


Late Night Reminiscing

by Biscuits_an_Gravy



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action, Drama & Romance, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Humor, Lemon, Light Angst, Love Triangles, Mystery, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2019-10-17 08:53:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 23
Words: 61,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17557247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Biscuits_an_Gravy/pseuds/Biscuits_an_Gravy
Summary: It's been a long time since it rained in Konoha. Between the humidity, the return of Sasuke and the heated looks from Yamato...Sakura was about to burst. But then again when it rains, it pours.





	1. Torn To Pieces

The air was thick with heat, the kind to make you melt in the thin sheets of your bedding while you're sleeping. It’s the reason Sakura wakes early one fated morning. Sweat clung to her pale skin like a snug sweater. She blanches but shuffles off to her shower regardless. She mutters a silent curse to her open window. Though granted it allowed for some relief of this sufferable heat; it failed to cool her room off entirely.   
Today was the day, she confided to herself. The mere thought made the cold water run warm over her goosed flesh. He would come home today at noon if the reports were right. She sighs heavily and leans against the shower wall. Was she ready to face him after their last encounter? Was she strong enough to stand her ground again with him? Her mind flashes to their fight before he left. Another heavy sigh escapes her lips.   
It was shortly after the war. Spirits were running high and admittedly so were Sakura's emotions. I mean Sasuke was back! Plus, we won the fight! But all her hooting for him to come back was just fluff it turned out. A week after their victory Sasuke’s attitude took a turn for the worst it seems. At first, they were laughing catching up from lost years. Then they went on many date nights filled with laughter and passion. Sakura had felt like they were on cloud nine. But then his moods began to go sour. He would stay up late or not sleep for days at a time. He became angry, easily annoyed and rather short than necessary with her. She dismissed it at first, given she knew his dark history. As the weeks turned to months, she couldn’t just let it slip by no more. So, she gave him an ultimatum; get help, for things he struggled to deal with, or she would leave him. It turns out that bastard took option number three. Leave the village on a redemption trip and not tell sakura…. again.  
She sighs heavily again. This man would be the death of her she decided. She brings her face to the cold water. A numbing pain prickled her skin as the water caresses every inch of her heated skin. Ironically Sakura notes the shower felt much like Sasuke’s touch; Detached, cold and unfeeling. For such a stoic man you would think he would be more passionate. To Sakura’s dismayed he was not. Though granted he would make an excellent statue for a museum. Cold, smooth and sexy were his forte. However, feeling of joy, amusement and love were not.  
By this point, Sakura was sure her shoulders would forever remain stooped by the thoughts of that man. However, she shakes her head with a smile. She was stronger than this. Though Sasuke was her first love, he was not her last. “Hai!” Sakura shouts in the shower with new found enthusiasm. She puts thoughts of him aside and finishes her bath with a new-found peace.  
An hour later Sakura finds herself running toward the training grounds for her early morning workout. Above the morning sky shined a dull dark grey with coming storms upon the horizon — Sakura’s breaths deeply of the massive air surrounding the coming storm. The air itself seems to carry the weight of the rain and in doing smothering every living thing it seemed. By the time she got the training grounds, she becomes drenched with sweat. To her pleasant surprise, Captain Yamato was present and training by himself.  
A smile crept upon Sakura’s face at the sight of the man. Given the high humidity, it seemed he decided to forgo his usual get up in favor of shorts and a bare chest. Sakura had to hand it to him he quite the impressive physique. Years of ninja work and training had sculpted the man’s body into hard muscles and faded scars. Being a medic, Sakura was familiar with such bodies given the multiple exams she had to perform over her career. However, she found that the scars were distinct to each ninja given their circumstances. Yamato, for example, had a long nasty scar across his back that still puckered pink in some areas. Sakura had often offered to heal the injury properly, yet he always refused, saying some scars were worth having to remember.  
Her ogling did not go unnoticed by said ninja. Yamato smirks at the younger woman before sending several kunai her way. Sakura snaps out of it and quickly dodges before sending her fist flying into the ground with a fierce cry. Yamato reflects the shifting sand with earth style jutsu before heading in for a frontal attack. Most would think its suicidal due to her monster strength, but to him, it was fun to see her counter in close combat.  
Sakura huffs with exertion as Yamato’s fist come in quick and furious. Now he was no lee with lighting fast fist, but he was a good 20 pounds heavier and more skilled in hand to hand combat. She was taking a beating even in her defensive mode. One miss placed chakra fist, and she would be open for a fatal weak spot. Crying out in frustration she sweeps her legs out toward Yamato who jumps up to dodge. Quickly she gathers her strengths, and upon her swing back she throws a quick jab to his jaw. Yamato is taken back and catches the air of her fist as he narrowly misses it. He stumbles back and grins at Sakurahuffing. She’s sweat-drenched and short of breath in this heavy humidity. Though Yamato being a veteran couldn’t help but be winded as well that morning. However, as his eyes travel the young kunoichi’s body, he couldn’t help but think it wasn’t the humidity that was doing it to him. She was sporting some short shorts and a cropped training top. All her tight coiled muscles glistened with a sheen coat of sweat. Suddenly he was dying of thirst as he watched a small line sweat roll down her tight stomach.  
“What’s wrong old’ man you tired already” teased Sakura  
Yamato snapped out of it and focused back up at her face. He grimaces.  
“Old man? Really1? I’m like five years your senior.” He complains but sighs.  
Sakura chuckles and drops her defensive stance.  
“Tomato, Potatoes.” She shrugs. Yamato only rolls his eyes before walking over to his bag.  
“Water?” he calls. He doesn’t wait for an answer as he pulls out two bottles. He sits beneath the tree and offers the other bottle up to Sakura who sighs but joins him.   
“So, what brought you out this early in the morning?” Inquires Yamato after a moment of silence.  
Sakura takes a long pull of water. She didn’t want to bog him down with all her baggage this morning. Hell, she didn’t want her luggage let alone to unpack it. So, she shrugged and went with a cop-out. “Couldn’t sleep.” She replied with a nod. “How about you?”   
Yamato snorts. “Couldn’t sleep” He mocks. Although if truth be told, it was his sexual frustration keeping him out this morning. The two share a pointed look before busting up with laughter.   
The tension eases up between the two before it suddenly dawns on Sakura. Yamato was a warm man with a hearty laugh and rather enticing body. His lean muscles cut and dipped right at his hip before dipping down into his shorts. Her mind briefly flashed to the idea of long tan, muscled legs and a long thick….  
“Sakura?” Called Yamato.   
Sakura thoughts popped like a bubble causing her to jump in surprise.  
“I’m sorry, what was that?” She asked with blushing cheeks. Yamato can’t help but grin at her ogling him again. Shit, it’s has been awhile he thinks.  
“I said what time are you due back at the hospital today?”   
She rubs her face with the impending exhaustion of hospital work. “ Soon.” She mutters with lacking enthusiasm.  
“That bad, “he asks with concerning brown eyes.  
Sakura can’t help but smile at him. “Nah,” she replies,” It’s just long hours and a shit ton of paperwork,” she says with a growing dread of the day.   
Yamato can’t help but chuckle at her. She was much like her shisha in that aspect it seemed. Sakura pegs him with a glare, but it quickly dissolves as she returns his amusement. Sighing she finishes her bottle and stands. She stretches her arms before addressing a dazed Yamato.  
“Well, I guess duty calls. I’ll see you around Captain Yamato!” With a wave, she takes off toward the village hospital. Yamato returns her gesture with a halfhearted wave and a hungry stare that goes unnoticed by said girl.  
Come hell or high waters he would make that girl his once and for all, he determined. Their little training stunt today only stoked the embers of his heart for her. He had tried to suppress these foreign feeling for so long, especially given her infatuation with that stoic Uchiha. However, when he caught wind of their split, he couldn’t have been happier. Though granted he knew she would be nowhere ready to move on so soon after their split. So, he decides to wait a month or two. However, his job as the Hokages go to ninja; he ended up out of the village for a majority of the year it seemed. Though now the Hokage has granted him some rest time due to his constant workload. Yamato had every intention on spending that time getting closer to his former teammate.  
He had first been taken back by her brash behavior. Though as they progressed as a team, he came to admire that trait and respected her abilities as a powerful Kunoichi. However, at some point, he though her less as a knuckleheaded kid and more as a young, beautiful woman. A small part of Yamato suspected Kakashi might have known his growing affection for the girl. That would explain the man’s constant workload the past year and his determination to keep Sakura out of the field. Regardless his time now he would find a way to become more acquainted with her. A small smile lights his face as he leans his head up against the rough bark of the tree. Time would tell if this would pan out for him or not.


	2. A little Unsteady

Sakura’s workday started the second she stepped foot through the glass door. Nurses from all corners rushed her at once.   
“Lady Haruno!” they called pushing manila envelopes at her.  
“So, and so need you in E.R one!”  
“But Lady Haruno your need in surgery in thirty!”  
“Lady Haruno you have a meeting in an hour over new policies!”   
Sakura was ready to scream at the sea of endless faces. Reality checks her though as a young woman comes barreling through the glass doors.  
“Someone, please help me! “she cried frantically. The whole staff freezes but Sakura quickly jumps to the hysterical woman’s aid.   
“What happen?” she asks firmly. Sakura slowly pry’s the woman arms open to reveal a shaking bundle. By her assessment, the child was maybe five months racked with a high fever and yellowing skin.   
“I-I-I don-n-t know-o-w.” stammered the woman. She relinquishes the child over to Sakura who methodically begins to check the child for interpretive signs. “One moment he’s smiling and cooing and the next he whines and grows still.” She blubbers.   
Sakura nods her head in understanding. By her quick scan, the child was showing signs of a possible allergic reaction. Sakura calls to one of the stands by nurses and has the woman and child escorted to an E.R room.  
Sighing thoughtfully, Sakura Haruno, Leading Medic Ninja, began yet another busy day at the hospital.  
The workload never let up until about one in the afternoon. Sakura by this point was stressed, sweaty and super irritable. Though as she slams her office door shut she decides it time to take an hour of rest before hopping back on the workhorse. First thing first, a shower. Sakura pulls her new uniform from the door and makes her way to an empty patient room.   
She lightly shut the door to the empty room then sighs in relief. It took every ounce of ninja training to avoid the herd of bustling nurses who were all on the hunt for her. She snickers silently to herself before jumping into another cold shower.   
The cooling water was sweet relief from the stifling heat. By the gods, if it did not rain soon, Sakura was going to have to sacrifice a virgin or something. According to the elders, this was by far the worst drought to hit Konoha in recent years. To say it was putting a damper on the usual happy civilians was an understatement. It seemed the city had seen more civil disputes in correlation to the rising humidity. Plus, more ninjas were popping up at work with heat exhaustion and dehydration problems.   
At the thought of heat filled ninja, Sakura’s mind lingered on the sweat-drenched Yamato. Such hard muscles on such a long, sturdy body. Sakura’s hand slowly caresses her smooth skin. His hands were calloused from years of hard work, and Sakura couldn’t help but wonder just how those callouses would feel on her pale skin. She laughs hesitantly at herself. These thoughts are absurd; she thinks to be wild. Still, the intrusive thoughts leaked into her imagination. Yamato with board muscle shoulders, calloused hands, and warm brown eyes.  
Her hands slowly make their way down her stomach and to her hot thighs. Each remembrance was like a bubble about to pop; Yamato’s body is moving in powerful, confident strides with a purpose set in his shoulders. Yamato’s body sweaty and peeling clothes away as he’s eager to get clean in a cold shower. Sakura sighs heavily as her hand cups her moist sex.   
The click of a door shakes her roughly out of her daydream. Her face lights up like a Christmas tree in July. Hurriedly she scrambles out of the shower and into a tight towel. Just as she wraps the towel about her chest, the bathroom door opens with slow, deliberate calculation. Before her, stands a tall ninja garbed in Anbu gear and a fox mask.  
Anger shakes Sakura with a cold fury as none have known to before. Her fist quickly gathers chakra; the fucking pervert would learn his place today, she declared. Sensing the Kunoichi’s foul mood the Anbu ninja holds his hands up in surrender. Sakura keeps her temper in check and eyes the man suspiciously.  
“This had better be an emergency.” She grounds out.  
She gets the impression the man smirks before putting his hands on his mask. Sakura steps back in suspicion. After all, Anbu was under strict orders not to let anyone know their identity.   
This visit could very well be a trap her mind whispers. The thought put her on edge. The last thing she needed was a discreet ninja fight in nothing but a towel that barely stretched across her chest.  
He lifts the mask to reveal the face of none other than Sasuke’s Uchiha. The breath she had been holding leaves in a gush causing her shoulders to drop. She had almost forgotten he would come back today. Hell, she had a busy day so far to keep her occupied from the thought. Though now it seems she had to face the music finally. She crosses her arms and pins him with a pointed look.  
“Can I help you with something or do you always make shows of peeping on showering women.” She scuffs.  
He arched an eyebrow at her with sly amusement. “That’s a good question. However, do you always greet your patients in such,” He pauses to rack his eyes up and down her wet slippery body.” An exotic manner.”   
A fierce blush racks Sakura cheek at the symbolic meaning. “In your dreams maybe” she snorts defensively. “But seriously Sasuke, what are you doing in here.” She demanded.  
Sasuke tilts his head to the side. “I’m here for my required checkup Sakura. The real question is why are you taking a shower in a patient’s room.”   
He stumped her on that one. But at least it was her former teammate and not some random pervert. She sighs in defeat.   
“It’s been a long day “she weakly replies.  
He mocks her with laughing eyes but only smiles at her confession. She can’t help her eye roll and points to the door behind him.   
“Okay Uchiha, get out so I can get dressed. Then I’ll go over your required checkup.” She states.  
Sasuke nods in agreement but takes one last lingering look at the provocative Kunoichi with a knowing grin he finally makes his leave. By that time Sakura was ready to pull her pink locks out. Could the man get any more infuriating, she thought desperately. He eye fucked her, and after her shower moment, she was ready to scream with frustration. However, she knew one taste of that Uchiha, and she would be reeling with regret like no other. Especially given their unresolved issues.   
All else aside she was at work. Time to pull herself together for the sake of her sanity. She quickly puts on her new uniform and lab coat. Stepping out of the bathroom she is assaulted by the sight of a half-naked Sasuke standing by the open window. Sakura takes a deep breath to steady her shot nerves. Scars decorated his pale back. Her eyes lost count of how many he had. She quietly smiles as she remembers she could read it like brail at one point. Flashes of memories of their late nights begin to creep up on her. She shakes her head and clears her throat loudly. She had a job to do, and the sooner she got it done, the better. Sasuke turns around and graces her with a winning smile.” You ready doc?” he teases. She rolls her eyes at him.   
“yeah, yeah get on the bed.” She waves at him. The man has the nerve to smirk at her before complying. Taking a deep breath, Sakura calls forth her medical chakra and begins the exam. All his vitals seemed good. No stress or overworked muscles. Not even in his amputated arm which hung close to his side. Sakura couldn’t help but sigh at the sight of it. She had offered many times to make a prosthetic arm like Naruto’s. However, he denied her offer, claiming it was his small price to pay.  
She wraps up his exam with a thumb up for his excellent health. “Just one last question and you can go.” She states with a smile. She grabs his medical chart nearby and begins filling out his release paperwork. The Uchiha nods and puts his shirt back on. Sakura is only slightly disappointed by the prospect but then chides herself respectively.   
“Do you still experience the ghost pain?” She asks somberly. The man before her sighs heavily but doesn’t reply. She took that as a yes. She lightens up her face and tires for a soothing tone. “You know we offer specific treatment for such cases. If you want I can schedule you in for a session.”   
The fiercely independent man shoots her a fierce glare. She can’t but grimace knowing he would see her empathy as an insult.   
“I’m fine” he declares boldly. He quickly gets to his feet and retreats to the window. Sakura eyebrow twitches with agitation, but she lets it go. The man would come around; eventually, she hoped. She sighs and finishes her part of the paperwork. “alright, your free to go.” She declares then proceeds to leave the room. A strong grip pulls her back with a twirl. She suddenly finds herself eye level to Sasuke’s firmly built chest. His hand tucks a strand of hair behind her ear before tilting her chin up toward his soften face. She can’t but be taken back by the sorrow filled eyes above her. “I’m sorry.” he breaths before pressing a light kiss to her open lips. Sakura sighs into the kiss as her eyes flutter shut. He tasted like fresh air and harsh rain. The sensation was a head rush. But as her eyes open she was left with an empty room and a sinking feeling that this was the end of their long-standing romance.   
Tears choked the seasoned Kunoichi, but she withholds the overwhelming feelings. Right now was not the time nor the place she decided. Putting the incident aside she went back to work with a new-found energy. She wouldn’t let this be the end of her. She was stronger than this, and she would overcome it. Come hell or high water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Stayed tuned. Next update is Saturday is February 9.


	3. Bailando

The hot, stuffy day soon lapsed into a smothering night. By the time the sun set it was like midnight amidst the bustling city. Everyone was clothed in the bare minimal clothes and scurrying from one air condition place to the next. For Sakura Haruno, she was beyond this fucking day. After Sasuke’s checkup, she was busy with countless surgeries and a nagging meeting with the head of staff regarding the budget. It was all enough to make Sakura growl in frustration. Instead, the young woman merely sighs into her endless paperwork upon her desk. She had been at the stack of papers for the past hour and a half. To her dismay, she hadn’t even made a dent in the leaning tower.   
She puts the pen down and stretches. This office work never really suited her taste. However, Lady Tsunade assured her it would become more comfortable with time. Sakura can’t help but snort with irony, given her teacher’s preferred hydration during long work hours. Still, Sakura was determined to at least get some of this mess knocked out within another hour. That way she wouldn’t be so overwhelmed tomorrow. She grabs her pen to proceed with her duties.  
Her acute ninja hearing picks up a shrill voice echoing down the hall. Sakura can’t help the grin lighting her face. It was about time that hectic woman made an appearance. Sure enough a few moments later a robust Ino bust through her office door.  
“Seriously Billboard Brow!” she calls fiercely. “Your shift was over like two hours ago!” She stated with crossed arms — the enthusiastic blonde huffs at the busy woman.  
Sakura rolls her eyes at the exaggeration. “take it down a notch Pig. We have patients resting.” She chides dismissively. Ino rolls her eyes but takes her voice down a notch.   
“whatever. “ Ino mumbles and steps behind the ever-busy Sakura. “But for real though, when do you plan on going home today “Inquires a worried Ino. She was aware of the Pinkett’s habit of overtaxing herself with work to avoid personal issues. And if today’s gossip was any indication, her friend had one hell of a day with her ex-lover. Though knowing her friend, she also knew the girl would never come out and say it either.   
Ino looks down at her cherished friend with pitting eyes.  
“Don’t even.” Grounds out an annoyed Sakura. Ino rolls her eyes but takes a step back. She turns toward the large bay window to study the busy Konoha street. Smothering nights like these always had the people on the move it seemed.  
Sakura lets out a heavy sigh. The nosey blonde had probably no doubt heard of her early encounter. Though she appreciated the silent support, she also grew agitated by the constant hovering. Admittedly she had done some dumb shit last time but this time was different. She was different, she decided silently. Regardless, she knew the blonde would not give up until Sakura submitted to either her demands or interrogation. She puts the pen down before spinning toward the curiously silent Kunoichi.   
“Fine, I’m going home now.” Sakura calls in defeat, "Happy now.”  
Ino looks back to her with a mischievous grin.  
“No!” Sakura cries with growing dread. The woman was notoriously famous for her random stunts. Each time the thoughts would emerge she always wore that damn look. Sakura shakes her head furiously.   
“No.NO.NO!” she chants firmly. Ino only laughs like a manic as she twists toward her best friend.  
“Come on bushy brow, are you not denying letting loose after today.” He sleek brow questions Sakura. Sakura can’t help but smile at the sight.   
“Pig, it’s been a long day for me,” She whines.  
“Well perfect! “she declares. “even better excuse to end it with a good BANG!” she shouts with suggestive eyebrow wiggling. Sakura's resolve withers away as both women burst into a fit of giggles.  
As Sakura catches her breath, she decides what the hell. All she had looking forward to at home was a hothouse and even warmer thoughts to occupy her. Maybe a night out could give her a break, one she needed to get back on even grounds.  
Sakura grins up at her friend who knew she had been won over. “Alright. Let’s go out.” She declares with a defeated smile. Ino whoops with new found enthusiasm. “I promise. You won’t regret it. “She declares with a wink. Sakura can only shake her head.

An hour and a half later the two Kunoichi were showered and dressed for the coming steamy night. To the right, Ino sported a sheer purple tank with black bindings beneath and cut off white shorts that accented her long tan legs. She strapped on some black flats to accent the outfit and did a natural make up look that focused on her lush lips. And in the left corner, our Sakura Haruno opted out for a slim fitting v cut dress that was silky black and clung to her shape in all the right ways. She straightened her normal wild hair and only wore mascara and shiny lip gloss. Together the two Kunoichi looked like your average young adult. To further that mirage, Ino decided to pick a joint with the least amount ninja visitors. Though given a ninja's strongest vice was always a stocked bar, made it hard to narrow a place down. However, the Blonde never fails to deliver, and the two make their way to an upcoming bar in the heart of Konoha.   
To both girl’s relief, the place was packed full of civilians. Thus, giving them the advantage of letting loose and not losing their cool. Ninja, after all, were naturally hot-headed, no matter how detached they may seem.  
Immediately the two approach the bar and begin ordering shots. One by one the drinks go down like gas on a fire. It blazed hot to the point of suffocation before easing up enough for the next one to go down. Six shots later, the two were a near puddle of random giggles and private snickers. The DJ begins to play some upbeat music that had the two swaying from side to side.   
“Let’s dance!” shouts Ino into Sakura's ear. Dazed by the alcohol and feeling fuzzy where it mattered most, she agreed. The pig squeals then proceed to drag her out onto the dance floor.   
To Sakura’s mild amusement it turned out tonight was salsa night or something. All she could comprehend was the blaring bass of foreign words rolling their Rs’. Either way, she began grinding her hip with Ino to the erotic beat.   
At that moment no fucks were given by the duo. They failed to note the surrounding male species drool with desire while the women glared in envy. All that matter was riding their fun buzz till the last drop of alcohol sweated from their pores. Hence the girls never noticed the incoming ninja crowd through the front doors. 

 

Yamato could count on one hand the number of times he had willingly gone out with his closest friends to drink. Unfortunately, tonight was not one of those nights.  
It had all started earlier when he had been training late into the afternoon. Genma approached him with weary eyes and an offering of dumplings. Since he had not eaten a majority of the day Yamato had quickly accepted the Ninja’s offering. During their lunch, Gemma brought up his last encounter with some random brunette who had legs for days.   
Yamato could only nod apprehensively at the man yet as he begins going in detail of the exploits Yamato nearly lost it. So, he shoved an extra-large rice ball into said ninja’s mouth to abruptly stop his yammering. Genma only laughs at the flustered man before sizing him up.  
“So how long has it been” Genma drawled after swallowing his mouth full.  
Yamato pointedly ignores the question and instead takes extra care of dipping his rice ball into the sauce. Genma rolls his eyes at the infuriating man. He was just as bad Kakashi only more brooding. At least the purvey ninja always had a witty come back instead of heavy silence. Genma sighs at the man before him.  
“So, it has been a while I’m guessing.” He goes on. “You know too long, and your boys are going to suffer for it.”   
Yamato chokes on his swallow at the mention of his balls. Gemma laughs while patting his back supportively.  
“Easy their Captain. I was teasing “He smiles bemusedly. Yamato returns the look with a sharp glare yet relents with a smile.  
“ Fair enough.” Replies Yamato.” But is it necessary to talk about this stuff while we're eating.”   
“Absolutely.” Quips Genma. “I could never get such an honest reaction otherwise.”   
Yamato rolls his eyes at the amusing man.   
“Anyhow, why don’t you come out tonight with us guys” declares Genma with a sinister smirk. Yamato feels uneasy at sight but pushes it aside. Instead, he declines by shaking his head no sternly. Genma sighs before looking up at the darkening clouds.  
“Suite it yourself “he declares. “However, your refusal to relax could potentially reach a certain Hokage-sama. Who then might feel you could be useful somewhere else.”  
The underlining threat had not lost on captain Yamato. If he had been a better man, he might have called that bluff. However, after his last six-month mission he was in no rush to return to work. Defeated for the time being he agreed to go out with the guys.  
“But NO matchmaking. Or else “seethes a dark Yamato. Genma lets out a nervous laugh while scratching his head absently.  
“Of course, not” Genma agrees uneasily.  
Thus, Captain Yamato found himself hopping from bar to bar with his loud, rowdy friends. Although he did give it up to them, they were an excellent company to have. Especially as his mind always tend to stray toward a confident pink haired woman. But one shot later and he was pulled back to the present by his friends telling tales of hot babes and fierce fights. At some point Yamato got a good buzz going as they all stumble into the next joint. Unlike the other joints, this one was more civilian oriented. Which meant each guy split off to hunt a new broad for their beds tonight. Genma however, stuck by Yamato only to pull him up toward the packed bar. They were shouldering their way to the bartender where Genma orders a round of shots and beers to chase them. While waiting for the booze, the two take a minute to inspect their surroundings. The atmosphere smelled of hot bodies and hard alcohol. In a way, it was intoxicating as some smooth foreign music blared from the surrounding speakers. Yamato couldn’t quite place the language but let it go as the beers appeared with shots. The two clink glasses then throw it back with a loud cry.   
Smiling like idiots, they take their beers and wonder over by the dance floor. Left and right, barely clad bodies rubbed in time to the saucy music. If one were of a sober mind, they would note the near-pornographic state some dancer seemed to grind together. However, in the twos drunken stupor it was amusing with a twist of exoticness. Suddenly a flash of pink hair catches Yamato’s attention. He quickly locks sight on a younger woman swaying with another woman. Her long pink hair clung to a pale, slender neck that gave way to a dress that clung just as tightly to her body. Yamato can’t help but feel his arousal begin to stir as his mind starts to think of a certain Kunoichi.   
“Seems like we aren’t the only ninja here tonight” Notes Genma, pointing to the dancing pair of women on the dance floor. Yamato bends his head just as the blond swings her face their way. Ino’s smile lights up as she catches sight of the two on the sidelines. She waves her hands at the two eagerly. At that point, the pink haired girl turns, and Yamato nearly flinches. Sakura soaked with sweat in such a dress was enough to roughly undue him. He holds on to the slippery feeling, but groans as Genma’s eyes light up with understanding.  
“So, she’s the one “he smirks. The bottle in Yamato’s hand nearly cracks under pressure. Genma laughs before pulling his reluctant friend out onto the floor toward the two Kunoichi.  
The men crowding the two-sexy women give them a wide berth as the two males approach the giggling messes. Their beers long forgotten, Gemma makes quick work of the loud blonde by pulling her away for a dance. Thus, leaving Yamato to stutter before an intoxicated Sakura.   
“Come on!” she yells to Yamato. “Don’t be so stiff” she chides good-naturedly. She grabs his large hands and pulls him close. The air grows thick, but Yamato doesn’t care at this point. The young woman smiles brilliantly up to him and starts to slither her lithe body against his. On the inside, Yamato is reeling from the innocent movement yet if he didn’t take charge he knew his self-control would quickly snap. So being of slightly drunk minded the man twist the girl around toward him. He places her arm appropriately on him then proceeds to show her just how the salsa works.  
Before long the two are captured up in their small bubble. Eyes locked in a heated stare as their bodies grind and twist to the rhythmic beats. Neither one dares to make the extra exertion in fear of breaking the smoldering spell cast upon them. One could say it was the alcohol enchanting their already placed feelings. Or they could say it was the mysterious humidity of the coming storm that drove even the sanest people to the brink of madness. After all what girl who had the infamous Uchiha wrapped around her finger, would dare downgrade to some work mule with a mysterious chakra nature. Then again who could ever image a Captain and former instructor falling for one of his most overlooked pupils? The night was heavy with coming rain and budding attractions.


	4. Dirty Laundry

The air is thick like a wet blanket. Outside the sky rumbles with coming storms — people sweating from the sticky humidity sway beneath the heat wave outside the club. Inside our heroine’s mind debates in a drunken state what to do.  
On the one hand, she could devour this handsome man before her. The look in his hungry stare tells her as much. The lil serious part of her is screaming the ramifications to come from such actions. Plus, a lonelier part of her proclaims her uneasiness with such work. I mean what if one kiss lead another. If possibly Sakura smile widens.  
Her lil sober voice pipes up with, but you’ve only been with one guy. How the fuck do you know if you are any good at it. Sasuke was a silent lover and an even quieter man.  
Who fucking cares!, proclaims the drunk Sakura. I’m horny, and he is more than willing!  
At that moment Yamato grinds a little closer to her. Sakura giggles proactively before grinding right back. Before she knew it Yamato’s large warm hands cup her face. For instance, the world slows, the music fades to the background. All she can hear is the steady beat of her erratic heart. His eyes linger on her soft mouth before tilting his head towards her. Sakura sighs as she leans into his kiss.  
Just as their fevered lips touch, a name echoes loudly across the dance floor. “SASUKE!!”  
Their moment becomes shattered as Sakura's violently ripped away. Drunk and unsteady she falls back into a stronghold. Confused she tilts her head up to see a seething Sasuke.  
“Hey! Let me go!” Sakura attempts to wiggle free, but his arm is stronger than it looks beneath that insufferable cape.  
“Your drunk.” He states. His glare never leaves that of Yamato’s, who slowly get into a defensive stance.  
“You heard her Uchiha. Let her go.” Yamato’s soft brown eyes clash with the glossy black of Sasuke’s.  
The thick air turns electric as both ninja’s chakra force emits across the room. Before they knew it, the entire rowdy bar had grown quiet. Even the music cut off for the impending fight. Sakura shivered at their deadly intent and knew she needed to nip this in its butt while she could.  
She calls forth her chakra and sobers up quickly. With one firm tug, she pulls free of Sasuke’s grasp. Slowly she steps between the angry shinobi.  
Before she could take any action a big, blonde man scoops her up from behind. She lets out a yelp of surprise.  
“Oh! Sakura-Chan we found you !!” Hollers Naruto. Sakura can’t help but smile at the idiot. The tension breaks between the two shinobi and the club proceed back to its party atmosphere. Naruto puts the giggling kunoichi down with a tossed arm over her shoulder. He slugs the bastard in his right arm before nodding over toward Captain Yamato.  
“What are you doing out tonight!” Sakura half yell at the blonde ninja. He smiles sheepishly,” celebrating my engagement!”  
Sakura gasp in surprise. “You finally asked!” she squealed in delight. Naruto laughed and nodded with enthusiasm. “She said yes” With that, they all laughed. Together the group moved off the dance floor and toward a table.  
“this is HUGE Naruto!” Sakura exclaims. “How could you not tell me sooner.” Just thinking about it upset her enough to slug the boy. Naruto rolls his eyes at the pink haired ninja.  
“You're always so busy at the hospital; I’m more surprised to find you out tonight than anything.”  
Sakura sighs at that comment. Sad but true she thought. Regardless she waves a hand absent mildly.” whatever so tell me how it all went down!”  
Sasuke sighed with annoyance while Yamato offered to get a round of drinks. Naruto, none the wiser of the award situation his friends had been in, began his torrent of how he proposed to Hinta.

Meanwhile outside the clouds began to shake and light up. A brisk breeze blows through the streets with the scent of coming rain. It was enough to lite any fire ablaze. Or more like the embers of lust proliferating out of control. Ino gasp into the mouth of Genma as he nips her lip playfully. The two had stumbled out the back of the club as their dance had become too stifling to contain any longer. The large iron door shuts behind the two with a loud bang. Ino’s back gets shoved against it with rough hands. She can’t help but smile at the display of aggression. This boy liked it roughed, and so did she.  
Her slender fingers twist into his damp brown lock before pulling back with a jerk. He lets out a low moan before forcing his hard knees between her legs. Ino’s hip reacts by grinding against said leg while their lips meet in a violent clash. His tongue feels hot and sharp in her mouth. She can only moan as he works her mouth thoroughly. Those full hands grasp her sexy thighs to pull closer to his hardening member. She throws her head back with a sigh as she wraps those long tan legs around his hip. He grounds hard into her before nipping at her slender, sleek neck. She whimpers only slightly before pulling his face roughly to hers.  
Genma has one hand cupping her sweet ass as the other holds the back of her neck in a tight hold. He loved the control she gave him in this instance. It was nearly enough to make him burst. Though sweet Jesus it had been a while since a dame had been so …. willing. They needed a place to go and quick before he fucked her raw in the streets.  
He breaks their heated kiss and stares at the panting woman before him. Her lips had become swollen with his kisses, and her eyes laid slant with uncovered lust for him. He loved her at that moment for the pure exoticness she gave off.  
“let’s go back to my place,” he says thickly. The girl grins like the devil and nods her yes. Gemma’s cock twitches with the coming fun. Though just as they teleport out his mind briefly flashes to Yamato. If Pinky was anything like her sexy friend, then he knew ol’ boy would be in good hands. With a poof, the two-horny shinobi left in a haze of lust.

Inside the club, the table of ninja became quickly crowded with more ninja from other squads. Lee, finding out of the engagement soon called for a toast. He shushed the table of ninja before standing up on the table in proud glory.  
“Here’s to Naruto and his engagement!! May they be merry in their youthful adventures! “he burps and slams back his mug of beer. The table of Shinobi all shout “Hai!” Then proceeds to slam back their beers. Sakura never stopped to think she had been lost amidst this sausage fest though she did wonder what had happened to her friend. Although once a drunk Lee declared a shot war with Kiba and Naruto, Sakura had lost all thought. Soon she had to help Sasuke pick a drunk Naruto off the floor. After dog breath blew chunks, everyone decided to call it a night.  
Sasuke grabs Naruto by the arm tosses him over his shoulder. Too drunk to argue the knucklehead only hiccups. Sakura giggles at the funny sight. Slowly she pulls away from the group of Shinobi to look for Ino. Although as she scopes out the place, she doesn’t catch sight of the playful blonde. Worry creases her brows as she continues to look amidst the club — a warm hand tugs at her wrist. Sakura turns to see a sheepish Yamato pointing his head toward the back.  
Curious, she follows him out the back door. That’s when Sakura senses the chakra signatures of the two Shinobi. One being Ino’s and the other no doubt Genma’s. Sakura could only laugh at the situation.  
“It sure didn’t take them long did it.” She jokes.  
Yamato only smiles and nods appropriately. “I guess so…are you heading home now?”  
Sakura looks up to the tall man with a grin. “ I don’t know it depends.”  
He cocks a brow at her with an amused smile. “Depends on what.” He crossed those thick arms across his chest. Her eyes can’t help but linger on the tight muscles. Tonight, the man had decided on wearing a black tank top with a pair of tan cargo shorts. The outfit was plenty revealing for Sakura’s taste and god did she want to taste that.  
Sakura steps closer to a grinning Yamato only to nearly scream in frustration. With a poof, the leaf’s number one stoic ninja appears with a rambling idiot on his shoulder.  
Sakura pinches the bridge of her nose in frustration. “What now.”  
“It’s too dangerous to be walking home by yourself,” Sasuke explains with a straight face.  
Sakura can only roll her eyes. “I think I am more than capable of handling a few idiots.”  
Sasuke only shrugs but does not attempt to leave. Yamato sighs but takes the hint. The insufferable brat wasn’t going to allow any room between the two of them. No matter, if Yamato was known for anything, it was his patience. He says his goodbyes to the group and poofs out of there.  
Of all the years she had been teammates with these insufferable idiots she had never once consider hitting Sasuke. Tonight, she was reconsidering that statement. With a heavy sigh, Sakura allowed a silent broody Sasuke and a drunk Naruto walk her home.  
The walk was a silent one. Though periodically Naruto would waken from his drunken stupor to shout random shit.  
“Sakura-Chan!” Naruto woke singing” And Yamato-sama sitting in a tree!” He burps loudly before slipping back into a deep sleep.  
Sakura rolls her eyes at the moron. “Sasuke why don’t you take him home’ she sighs.  
The infuriating man remains silent as they stomp toward her house.  
“Or not, “she swings her arms by her side. “I mean it’s not like you can hear me anyway past all that snoring in your ears. “she teases.  
The trio passed a series of benches before Sasuke suddenly stops. He tosses the blonde onto one of the chairs before facing Sakura.  
Now Sakura could count on one hand how many time she has seen the man furious. Granted many of these times his anger was directed toward Naruto, she, however, had never been on the receiving end of his furry. Tonight, was just full of surprises for her nonetheless. Those coal black eyes shimmered with barely held fury. Sakura had to take a step back from the sudden hostility. Above the clouds crack loudly with thunder.  
“How long have you guys been fucking!” he growls at her. She’s taken back in surprise. What in the hell was he talking about, she thought frantically.  
“Don’t play dumb with me Sakura! It’s obvious you and Yamato had something going on!”  
Sakura felt like she had punched in the gut and head simultaneously. However, her anger quickly rises at the man’s unfair accusation. Though granted she had wanted to touch the former captain inappropriately still it was none of his business.  
“Fuck you!” she bellows back at him.  
“Real nice." He snorts. The man crosses his arms with a dickish grin. “I guess after I left it didn’t take you long to fall into bed with that old pervert.”  
The loud crack that echoed after his words came from the stinging hand of a furious Sakura. Sasuke looks to her in astonishment as his face beats red with her handprint.  
“You fucking left!” she shouts at him. “what right do you have to be angry!” her voice cracks as her bottled emotions came bursting open.  
“No bye, no fuck you, no nothing!” She smacks his shoulders angrily. The man is deathly silent as she lets out her emotional rage.  
“You don’t even have the decency to write to tell me you’re okay! You just..." Her hands go up in the air for punctuation, ", show up and think all would be forgiven?”  
“Did you fuck him while I was gone,” Sasuke whispers in a choked voice. Tears well up in Sakura’s eyes. Of all the shit to say, she thought. She wraps her arms around herself and refuses to look the man in his face.  
“No…I didn’t.” Came her heavy reply. The man lets out a breath he was holding as if that was the most important detail. “But I should have. Or anyone for that matter” she shoots him a sharp glare that he only meets with a surprised look.  
She snorts at his audacity. “A year Sasuke. I waited a year for you.” She whispers. “a lot has changed in that year.” He swallows thickly and nods.  
“But do you still love me? “His coal eyes meet her teary green ones.  
That was the million-dollar question, wasn’t it? Did she trust him enough to allow him back into her life? In his year absent she had learned to live without him. She learned to love herself just as furiously as she had loved him. Could she manage to do both now….  
Sakura broke eye contact first as one question bubbled up in her mind. “Was there anyone else while you were gone?”  
His silence was as deafening as the loud cracks of thunder that followed. Sakura gulps heavily before meeting his sorrowful eyes. Words fell short for his guilt that he wore like a lousy superhero cape. Sakura’s throat constricts strongly with choked tears. Above the clouds finally, relent and burst forth with a rush of cold rain. Her tears are invisible amidst the pour, and with a poof, she leaves the distressed man with his unforgiven guilt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and thank you for the read! Since the day of love is around the corner I'll be posting two more chapters on Feb 14!


	5. Another Vice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hear Ye! Hear Ye! This chapter contains explicit adult scenes. For those who wish to skip it don't read further after Sasuke's bit. For everyone else, enjoy!

The entire village gave a deep sigh of relief with the torrent rain. Sakura, however, couldn’t catch her breath. Eventually, her transporting had brought her back to the training grounds under a large tree. She sunk to the muddy ground with ragged sobs.  
A year she had waited faithfully, if not soundlessly. For an entire year, she had given false hope to an idea of a possible happy ever after. For a year she had thought something would have changed. But not this, not ever this. The feeling of betrayal felt like hot sticks in her chest. Granted she figured things wouldn’t be the same but…. Her mind shuts down as she lets her sorrow overcome her.

The rain pours onto the dried-up village. All around people scurry from every crook and cranny to dry homes. Yamato, who took the long route home, got caught in the food district when the sky opened and released the flood gate. He stands beneath a food booth and watches as people scurry out of the rain. His mind drifts toward her once again. The little vixen was practically begging for his touch tonight. If he had played his cards quicker, they would be in his bed sheets. Yamato sighs heavily at the thought. Though perhaps this was for the best he rationalized. He had a feeling just one night with her wouldn’t be enough to satisfy his craving for her. Although if that brat of an Uchiha doesn’t stop cockblocking him, he would have to handle him once and for all. Speaking of the devil, his mind mused. Yamato’s eyes fall upon said Uchiha. He carried the bratty fox kid on his shoulder. Although from Yamato’s perspective it seemed the man was searching for something …. Or someone. The Uchiha placed the drunken fox kid inside the Ichi ramen stand before poof-ing out of sight. Yamato’s Spidey senses tingled. Quickly he makes his way over the street toward Naruto.  
The kid was slumped over on the counter, snoring without a care in the world. Yamato’ shakes Naruto awake. Startled the kid lets out a yelp but giggles upon seeing Yamato.  
“Sup Cap-A- Tain.” He hiccups and laughs. Yamato resists the urge to slap him.  
“Where is Sakura?” he asks worriedly instead.  
Naruto looks confused for a moment before hiccupping again.  
“I Dunno…. The bastard made her cry though.” Naruto pouts miserably.  
Yamato sighs heavily. They must have fought, he thought to himself.  
“Did Sakura make it home ?"  
Yamato pinched Naruto as he began to doze off. The blonde shakes awake but starts to sway on the barstool.  
“No, she took off before we made it there.” He yawns loudly before resting his head on his folded arms. Yamato only shakes his head at the idiot. However, he knew Naruto would be okay until the Uchiha brat came back. Sakura though…. If she was upset there was no telling where she could be. Rubbing his chin, it suddenly clicks to Yamato where she might be. With a poof, he disappears in a cloud of smoke.

The loud rush of rain eventually let up into a soft downpour. Sakura finally managed to get her sobs under control but only barely. At this point, she just wished she brought some alcohol home from the bar. Although she supposed it would be a good idea to go home seeing how she is all muddy now. She looks down at her disheveled dress and dirty legs. She snorts at the coming scolding from Ino about her lack of self-care with herself. She sighs heavily. Lucky bitch, at least she got some relief tonight, she thought.  
Slowly she pulls herself up from the ground. All around the smell of fresh dirt engulfs her senses. She closes her eyes and tilts her head back. Funny, she thought, it smelt a lot like Yamato to her. The very idea made her smile warmly.  
“ For a moment I was worried you were in distress.” Came a smooth voice.  
Surprised Sakura gasp and turns around toward the voice. Yamato stands beneath the tree with a sheepish grin on his face. Sakura can’t help but laugh. He slowly approaches her, taking in her disheveled appearance. A quick scan of her body and face alerted him to no physical altercations.  
“Are you okay,” he asked her after a moment of silence. She hugs herself and can’t quite look him in the eye.  
“I guess…” She mumbles.  
Slowly he pulls her hand free from her grasp.  
“Come on let’s go.” He smiles warmly at her.  
Sakura can only look at him dumbfounded at his kindness. The sensation of a man being soft and yet kind was a bit foreign to her. So, taken back she was, she never objected to him leading her away.  
Eventually, the two made it back to Yamato’s apartment since it was the closest in walking distance. By the time they arrived, they were both drenched and tired. However, the warm air of Yamato’s apartment made the flesh on Sakura’s arm raise slightly with heat as she entered his small apartment. Absent-minded she rubs her arms. Yamato notes it and directs her toward the bathroom.  
“Feel free to take a hot bath. I’ll get you something to change into.” He smiles before turning to go.  
“It’s okay I can head home.” Sakura hesitates as the man turns to give her a deathly stare.  
“Sakura, you will catch a cold if you’re out any longer in that weather" he states matter of fact, “So, whether you like it or not you're stuck here until the rain lets up. So please go wash up before you muddy up anything else.” His teasing eyes break her as she sighs in defeat.  
“Fine.” She grumbles. “But I’m using all the hot water!” His laughter follows her into the bathroom.

By the time she gets done with the hot bath, she nearly feels normal. She wraps up in a towel and slowly opens the bathroom door. Before her, at the doors entrance, lays a pair of black sweat and an old faded grey t-shirt. Sakura picks up articles of clothing with great care. She shuts the door quietly before taking a whiff of the shirt and pants in her hands. They smelt like clean linen and fresh wet earth. The smell was purely Yamato. Sakura's broken heart become soothed by the aroma.  
Sighing she quickly gets dressed and walks toward the living area. Yamato’s apartment was set different than Sakura’s own. Whereas her kitchen and living area were separate, Yamato's is made into one large open space. Sakura takes a seat on his big green couch that faced toward his open kitchen. From her vantage point, she could see Yamato making tea in the kitchen. She also noted the man had changed into some loose fitting dark grey sweats and…. Dear Jesus, she gulped…. he was shirtless…… Sakura’s mouth suddenly goes dry at the sight of the man. His back muscles moved gracefully in ripples as he poured each of them a cup of tea.  
“I hope you like lemon.” He calls over his shoulder.  
Sakura snaps at of her gapping to focus on the moment at hand.  
She clears her throat, "I’m grateful for whatever your offering.”  
Yamato finishes up his small task before bringing her a cup of hot lemon tea. He hands her the cup before sitting across the couch from her. Sakura inhales the fumes with a smile. The warmth of the cup bought back some of the feelings in her chilled hands. She slowly takes a sip while wearing a matching smile with Yamato. Though the warmth she suddenly felt was hard to pin. She was not sure if it was the tea or….  
“So, your surprisingly comfortable with yourself to walk around half naked all the time.” She blurts out.  
Yamato gives her a strange look before booming with laughter. The sound echos of the wood panel walls.  
“What can I Say, I’m comfortable with my body.” He has the nerve to wink at her.  
Sakura feels her mouth split into a wide smile. Yamato was a man who was confident but assertive. Strong and sturdy like an oak tree, noted Sakura.  
They both take a long sip of their tea. As the silence settles between the two shinobi steal sidelong glances at each other. Neither makes a move to see if the other would respond. Instead, they awkwardly cleared their throats. Sakura sighs inwardly. The last thing she needed right now was another fallout.  
Yamato takes her by surprise though. He removes her cup from her and places it aside. He grasps her feet suddenly before pulling them into his lap. She only gapes at him like he is bat shit crazy.  
“Spill it Haruno.” He fixes her with the gaze of a concerned friend. It nearly undoes her.  
Suddenly her throat constricts with emotions making it hard to speak. She clears her throat loudly.  
“I…don’t kno- " She starts.  
Yamato sighs with exasperation, “Spill it, or I’ll tickle your feet.”  
The pair eyes become locked in a fierce standoff at the declaration. Sakura finally sighs with defeat. Yamato can only smile broadly at his victory before messaging her feet.

Outside the clouds roar with an ungodly thunder followed by fierce lighting. The bastard of the village finds himself at quite the disadvantage. One, Sasuke had a lazy drunk to babysit. And two, he had run Sakura away, yet again. He had promised sensei that when he came back, he would clear the air between them. However, so far, he’s only managed to screw it up even more. For all their confessions Sasuke couldn't find it in himself to just let her go. He knew if he didn't come clean any further, he would end up hurting more so than he already did. Sasuke sighs heavily in the pouring rain. He had been searching for her the past hour but to no avail. Finally, he gives up and heads back to the noodle stand he had left the idiot.  
The pitter patter of the rain on his old cape seemed to match the slow antagonizing beat of his heavy heart. He managed finally tell Sakura the truth…. Or at least part of it. Just as Sensei had said, the shit sucked. But he had made this sully bed, and he intended to lay it to rest.  
Though what he had not expected was Captain Yamato. Granted he knew the guy stepped up in place of Sensei in the past; he respected that. What grounded his gears was the man’s hands on Sakura as if he knew her in the most intimates of way. Even now the mere idea makes his blood boil with hatred. Granted he had no room to speak of such things, still…. what was his …. was…well his dam it!  
The Uchiha’s hand shoots out into the nearest wall. There is a loud crack on impact followed by the crumble of brick. The man takes a deep calming breath before entering the noodle shop before. Just as when he left, the idiot was passed out with drool pooling at his face. He heaves the moron onto his shoulder and vanishes promptly.  
Hours later the Uchiha finds his way back to the compound. It was late into the night, and the rain still had not let up. Thankfully Sasuke had the repairs to the building finished a week before his return. He walks around the old floorboards allowing memories to resurface from before the massacre. Images of a younger Itachi chasing him from door to door. An angry mother chasing said boys from the kitchen with a broom in hand. Ghost laughter echoes in Sasuke’s mind as the phantom images fade into the lightning strike. Thunder follows soon after shaking the compounds thin walls.  
Sighing, the man makes his way to the master bedroom. To his relief, she was still up and reading by candlelight in their bed.  
“Your back” She smiles fondly at home.  
His heart speeds up in a manner that would cause some for alarm. But to Sasuke, this was normal for his love for her. He quickly shed his drenched cape.  
She laughs at his disheveled appearance,“I assume the celebration went well?"  
Sasuke pauses to peg her with a ‘are you fucking kidding me’ look. She can only giggle at him even further.  
“So, he did take it too far with the drinking” She surmised smartly.  
Sasuke finally strips to the bare naked then quickly dives under the covers. She greets him with open arms and a warm smile. As the two-cuddle close together Sasuke whispers the sweetest words,  
"I love you, Karin.”  
The fierce redhead sighs content, "I love you too Sasuke.” Together they hold her rising stomach beneath the sheets.

The storm was one of the fiercest the town of Konoha had seen in recent years. Though through the rain a pair found solace in each other’s arms that fated night.  
Ino hisses with pain as her back slams into the nearby wall. A sharp object jabs her though she can’t pause to pull away. The instant she pushes back his lips is on hers in a fevered manner. That long, languish tongue burrows into the sweet silk of her mouth. She moans into his mouth, as he pulls her onto the couch. The two tumbles and Ino finds herself straddling the said ninja. She pushes up to catch a quick look at the man that made her vagina moist like a waterfall. Genma was short of breath with hooded eyes that linger on her in the most savoriest way. Ino bites her lip then pulls at her shirt. Rough warm hands quickly help her. Soon the cold air bites at her soft flesh. She gasps as Genma quickly takes her budding nipples into his hand.  
He kneads them lightly while taking pleasure in her squirming atop him. Slowly he rises and swiftly takes one of those perky nips into his mouth. Ino moans low as his hot tongue flicks across her sensitive member. Her hands quickly twist into his hair causing him to bite down. She yelps in surprise then sigh as he licks the other.  
A hot building sensation starts in Ino's lower abdomen as she begins to grind atop of him. However, She wanted more flesh. Eagerly she begins to pull at his tight shirt. Between her gasp and his furious tongue, she finally manages to pull it off. Her nails then make quick work of his back. Genma hiss as her nails racks him again.  
Grunting he throws her down on the couch. He takes those talons and pins both hands with his one above her head. She squirms as he takes pleasure in her half-naked state. That flexible kunoichi body was pure beauty beneath him. He had every intention of eating this one up until nothing remained.  
Grinning he retakes her mouth once again. Slowly he breaks away to nip at her neck with soft kisses followed by hard bites. Each time she jumps then moans in pleasure. He keeps making his way down till finally, he has his hand upon her thick hips. She squirms furiously, her mouth open in a half groan. He places a firm grip on her stomach as the other makes quick work of her shorts.  
Those long tan legs spread before him as her glorious clit becomes revealed to him. The glistening member made his cock twitch with hunger. Slowly he kisses her inner thigh praising her in all her beautiful glory. Finally, his hot mouth reaches her swollen cunt. Lightly his tongue flickers across her labia — the younger woman jerks in surprise before moaning with pleasure. Genma scoops his hand beneath her firm ass and brings that wet pussy into his face with a grin.  
Ino can’t help but squirm beneath the hot mouth of Genma. With each lashing of his tongue, she felt her cunt quiver with excitement. The sensation builds and builds inside her stomach. Ino arches her back as a wave of pleasure racks her suddenly. The feeling spreads to her stomach where the pressure suddenly burst. She finds herself suddenly yelling as her hips buck wildly against Genma’s face.  
Before she could gather wits, she is suddenly turned over. Hot hands grasp her waist and pull back harshly. A thick, hot member suddenly penetrates her from behind. She lets out a profound grasp followed by a husky moan as the cock fills her soaking wet pussy. Above her, Genma lets out a deep cry as well. To his pleasure, the girl’s cunt had quickly gobbled him up in one swallow.  
They stayed still for just the briefest of moments. Then with a fierce cry, Genma begins to pound furiously into the small woman. Ino’s hand shoots out to steady herself as she's fucked fast and hard. Her core burns hotly again as the cock slams in and out of her. With each smack of their genitalia, the pressure began to build inside her again.  
Just as the pleasure began to be too much and burst, he flips her again. Though this time she is on her back and Genma is smiling wildly. He grabs both legs and pushes them forward till her knees are near her ears. He slams into her and then grins as he's greeted with a cry of ecstasy from the Kunoichi. He pulls out slowly and does it again and again and again.  
Beneath him, Ino was about to burst in pure bliss from his glorious cock. Not only was it large and filling, but the man sure knew how to use it when fucking. As he slammed back into her, she cried out again with pleasure. Suddenly he pulls out and lowers her legs. He bends low and retakes her mouth once more. As their tongues clashes, he slams his throbbing cock back into her. She gasps from the force of his dick.  
He raises back up, then slowly reaches his hand toward her throat. Ino smiles knowingly at him. She raises her chin as his hand secures around her throat. He pulls out his soaking wet cook ever tediously, making sure she felt every inch leaving her dripping cunt. With a tight squeeze at her throat, he slams every inch of his hard member back into her. Pleasure racks Ino in waves as he continues this onslaught on her hot tight body. Her pussy quivers harder and faster with each slam. Soon it all hits a breaking point, and ecstasy racks them both. Genma’s hand falls away as he pounds recklessly into Ino. Soon they are both shouting their release into the stormy night.


	6. Without Me

The grey light of morning shines down on a snoozing Sakura. She lay intertwined with long muscles the color of tree bark. Her head rested upon a thick chest with her small arms wrapped about the warm torso. From a bystander’s point of view, it would look as if the two were close lovers. At least that’s what Hokage Kakashi assumed as he stared down at the two snoozing idiots.   
Perhaps all wasn’t lost with her, contemplated Kakashi. He clears his throat loudly then watches as the shinobis’ jump into action.  
Sakura startled awake by the feel of strong arms crushing her to a firm chest. She hears the swift pull of a kunai drawn followed by a clank as it is reflected. She pushes away from the warm body only to end up falling to the ground. As her ass hits the floor, she is flooded with bright lights. Once she rubs her eyes sleepily, she finds herself in utter shock. Before her is a laughing Kakashi standing above her while an annoyed Yamato sits up on the couch.  
Shit. Fuck. Shit. Fuck. Shit. Ran through Sakura's mind as she scrambles to get up.  
“Well, well what do we have here.” Muses Kakashi.  
“It’s not what it looks like!” blurts Sakura.  
Yamato can only sigh at the reddening Kunoichi. In retrospect, it was not for the lack of Yamato trying. Just things like this took time, and he enjoyed the chase more than anything. It didn’t help that Kakashi was teasing the poor thing.  
“I assume there is something of importance?” Yamato pegs the insufferable Hokage with a hard look.  
Kakashi only gives him an eye crinkle in return.  
Sakura jumps up to her feet. Her face growing hotter by the second. “I’ll leave you guys to it then.” She hastily says.  
With a hand sign, she poofs out before either shinobi could protest.  
Yamato sighs as he leans his face into his hands. Any more of this teasing shit and he was going to lose his shit. Kakashi only chuckles in the kunoichi’s absence.   
“You guys seem to be getting closer.” The man notes as he helps himself to the kitchen.   
Yamato pulls his head up to study the old ninja. It would seem that he was not here for business. Otherwise, he would already be diving into details, he accessed. Yamato crosses his arms about his chest in suspicion. Kakashi takes note but helps himself to a glass of water.  
“You seem pretty relax for a busy Hokage.” Sighs Yamato.  
Kakashi shrugs his shoulders and sips his water while starring down Yamato.  
Yamato’s jaw clicks in impatience. "Out with it already.”   
“Where do I start.” Replies Kakashi cheekily.

Sakura was not the least bit focus when she transported that morning. Thus, our favorite pink-haired Kunoichi finds herself outside an alleyway somewhere in the city of Konoha. Lucky for her the skies remained grey but with no rain. Shit.Fuck.Shit.Fuck. She thought as she gained her bearings. Finally, it dawns on her; she was outside a local food joint about five blocks from her apartment.   
She sighs before taking a once glance over at herself. She smiled as she realized she was still wearing the baggy clothes of Yamato but also barefooted. “Fuck my life.” She murmurs and begins her walk home.   
Inside her skull, her mind was reeling from the previous night events.  
All that alcohol and dancing had done wonders for sanity at the time. Then Yamato shows up and…Her mind flashes to a hot, sweaty body, warm eyes and the breath of large soft lips. Sakura finds her hand touching her lips at the thought of their near kiss. She jerks her hand away with a shake of her head. It was just the alcohol, she rationalized. After her horrid moment with the bastard, she found herself sober and back in Yamato’s arms.   
Sarkar sighs heavily. Last night after her brief meltdown she had allowed Yamato to take her home. Where surprisingly he got her to be open about her issues with Sasuke. Even after all their flirting he stilled retained civilities with her in the face of her emotional uproar. They had talked for hours it seemed until she finally had passed out from exhaustion.  
Though the more she thought about this, the more embarrassed she became. Sweet Jesus she had worked with the guy for crying out loud…or at least when Kakashi-sama would let her out in the field. Still, …they have always had a …professional if not shallow friendship…but after last night where did their relationship stand now…friends? The thought did not sit well with Sakura. For a man to be so warm and inviting as him…. surely, they were closer than friends…right?.... Did she even want anything more than a friend…? Especially after her fallout with Sasuke and his unspoken confession…. Her heart ached fiercely, and she decided that was enough thinking about boys. She needed to focus on work and get the hell out of town for a while.  
Sakura was a trained ninja by trade. However, in her confused state, she was not paying attention to her surrounding as one of her profession should. Thus, some hurried blonde plows right over her. Aghast she grabs the quick woman by the wisp of her flying hair and forces her back; however, She is countered by a kunai to the throat. Both women blink owlishly before erupting with laughter.  
“Dear Jesus Pig are you late to a meeting or something.” Sakura comments.   
Ino shrugs and gives her best friend the once over. She quickly grins as she notes the outfit change.  
“Something,” Ino wiggles her brows at the Pinkett. "Though the real question is where are you coming from?”   
Sakura gapes like a fish out of water. As Sakura blushes, Ino grins wider.   
Furious Sakura retorts, "Look who’s talking…Any idea where your bra’s at Ino?”   
The blonde huffs before covering her erect nipples.   
“Shut up billboard brow; this is neither the time nor the place!” She hisses while looking around.   
Luckily no one of note had noticed the hot mess of the two kunoichis. Sakura can only roll her eyes at the blonde. Though she did have a point, Sakura determined.  
“My house in an hour.” She tells her best friend. With a nod, they both poof out of the streets.

An hour later, dressed in their everyday gear, the two kunoichis find themselves laid up on Sakura’s beige colored couch.  
“Girrrrllll last night was wild!” Ino giggles while Sakura sighs at the thought.  
“You're telling me. “   
Ino pegs her friend with a concerned look. Last night before her venture, she could have sworn Sakura and Yamato had some excellent chemistry. Like the kind, you can set ablaze with the flick of a match. Hell, she felt it as much with Yamato’s friend…. what was his name again, she wondered absent-mindedly?  
“Nah you go first Pig, what happened with Gemma last night?” stated Sakura.  
Oh yeah, that was his name. Ino grins wildly as memories from last night rolls up.  
“Weeeellllll…” she murmurs. The girl’s eyes clash, and they both start to giggle.  
“Out with it already!” Sakura swats at her friend who finally relents.  
“Oh, honey he’s good,” she purred with suggestive brows.   
Sakura can’t help but laugh at her audacious friend.   
Ino sighs as she thinks back to the previous night, “ I could tell the guy was older because he knew how to work his shit. If you know what I mean,"  
Ino elbows her bestie and crackles as her face reddens.  
“Sweet Jesus Sakura it’s almost like you’re a virgin.” She teases.   
Sakura huffs before slapping Ino on the arm lightly.  
“Oh, shut up Pig. Anyway did you sneak out this morning or what?”  
Ino sighs as the morning's events replayed in her head. “Well let’s just say the man taste even better for breakfast.”   
Sakura rolls her eyes, but secretly she damns the woman and her success in releasing some fucking tension.   
“After my fill, I just left,” Ino sighs again but shrugs at Sakura’s questioning look.   
“Just a one-time thing.” She finishes with a smile. Sakura nods and lets the subject drop.  
It seemed her bestie was rather fond of these one-night stands. For the past few years, it was hard to keep count of how many men had fallen prey to her seduction. None seemed to satisfy her enough to, for her to stay longer than a night. Although she did recall a raven-haired boy, however, he was creepy after three days in, according to Ino, who dropped him quickly after that.  
A silence settled over the girls as they recalled the events of last night. Eventually, Ino snaps out of it then proceeds to slap her bestie lightly.  
“Your turn Billiard Brow, spill it already!” She demanded.  
Sakura sighs heavily before leaving her head back on the couch.   
“Girl…. you don’t even know.” She looks over to Ino who is pegging her with a worried look.  
“Did Yamato do something!” She begins, growing angrier by the second, "Because if so I’ll stomp his big burly ass to the ground if he hurt you!”   
Sakura laughs but doesn’t take her threat lightly. The chick was sneaky and deadly at her best. Sakura shudders at the thought.  
“No, no," Sakura soothes the angry Kunoichi, "He was…”   
Sakura did not know how quite to say it. He was warm and inviting…but also sensual and enticing …. yet he was also her senior commander …. Sakura groans before putting her hands in her hands. Ino can’t help but roll her eyes.  
“Look, Hun, he’s a man. You’re a woman. Your both adults and consenting. BOOM.” She claps her hands for demonstration.   
Sakura looks up at her like she is crazy but only laughs at her friend’s enthusiasm.   
“Well, that would have been…. possible.” Sakura starts,” But guess who showed up.”  
Ino groans in shared agony, "Are you fucking kidding me”?  
Sakura shakes her in bitter disagreement. “Nope BUT did you know Naruto proposed to Hinata.”  
“WHAT!” Ino shouts out with glee.   
Sakura laughs before giving her a rough run down of the details regarding the proposal.  
“Although you would have known if you had been around last night.” Teased Sakura. Ino rolls her eyes.  
“Maybe but I assure my evening did not suffer for it.”  
The girls share a mutual laugh before lapping into silent.  
“So, you didn’t hook up with Yamato last night.” Ino looks to her best friend to find her blushing furiously.   
She just knew something happened. The little wench was going to spill the beans one way or another, she determined.  
“Not exactly.” Sakura sighs as her blonde friend squeals in excitement.  
“Girl you better spill and spill it quick!!!” Ino shouts as she jumps up and down in her seat with glee for the following news.   
Sakura rolls her eyes in annoyance.  
“Look me and Sasuke got into it and…” Sakura drifts off as a lump rise in her throat.  
Ino gages Sakura's immediate reaction and immediately wishes that bastard would have just died during the war. Ever since his return he had done nothing but cause her best friend misery.  
“Fuck that asshole Sakura!” Ino growls fiercely. Sakura weakly nods her head in agreement.   
“Anyway, afterward Yamato finds me and brings back to his place," Sakura continues.  
Ino’s brows shot to the heavens it seemed at that mention. Sakura pegs her with ‘don’t you dare say a fucking word’ look.  
“I took a shower, he lent me some fresh clothes, and we talked…all night about- “  
“Don’t fucking say it!” groans Ino as she drags her face with he hands.  
“Sasuke.” Finishes Sakura.  
Ino growls with frustration, “Dear Jesus Haruno, I have never seen such a cock blocker before in my life !!!” she shouts at the Pinkett.   
Sakura smacks the obnoxious blonde with an offended look. Ino only pegs her with a ‘bitch please’ look.  
“I’m serious; if you want to get laid Sakura, you don’t bring up your EX!” Ino mumbles with a disapproving look. Sakura shrugs, but she knew well what the blonde meant.   
“Whatever, it’s not like we…I mean…We couldn't....” Sakura let the words fade from her mouth as she tries to wrestle these conflicting feeling.   
She wanted to taste the man, but then…he was her commander. Teacher, at some point even…plus did she want to prove an inch with Sasuke previous remarks…. The girl merely sighs.  
Ino, however, was only beginning on her rant. She was tired of seeing her closest friend regularly in the gutter. Anyone in a ten-foot radius could see the attraction between Sakura and Yamato. The fact her friend was still hung up on that miserable Uchiha was just like gas to Ino’s fire. He never deserved her by Ino’s reasoning. This Yamato man, however, seemed fitting for her serious friend. Now if only she could convince her of as much.  
“Look you got it all wrong.” Ino takes a deep breath then slowly releases it as her thoughts become collected.  
"You are single hot, ADULT, woman. You can fuck whoever, whenever, as long as it is consensual. And trust me, honey, he’s more than consenting.”   
Sakura can’t look her in the eyes as a deep blush rose up on her face once again. At this rate, she would be a constant shade of red.  
“You deserve to be happy Sakura.” Ino sighs before taking her distraught friend into her arms.  
“Sasuke admitted to being with someone else while he was away,” Sakura confessed into the chest of her friend.   
The sharp intake of air between Ino’s teeth was her only reply. They sat like that for a while. Eventually, they decided a girl’s lunch date would suit them well. Together they head off yet again into the city of Konoha.

Meanwhile across town at the infamous compound, a particular redhead begins her cleaning routine. It had been a couple of weeks since her beloved brought her to his home. At first, she was wary of such an empty place. From her experience, these kinds of situations only breed from death or destruction. However, her beloved assured her all was well. The area just needed some bodies, according to him. Karin sighs at the thought, men, were so ignorant of things sometimes, she thought with amusement. She gathers her supply and head outside to the deck area.   
After last night’s rain, the temperature let up for a chilly night. However, by mid-day, the humidity had climbed yet again with new storms pushing in from the south. Karin wipes her already damp brow but sets out scrubbing the deck. It looked like the place was empty for years. Though if the rumors were true, then no one had stepped foot in here since that fated night so many years ago. It frightens Karin to think that their child would inherit such a dark legacy. However, Sasuke assured her that, their history was a need to know bases, especially given their involvement with Orochimaru. She shudders at the thought of the man. Given he has reclaimed his loyalty to the leaf, she still felt uncomfortable with the idea. Hell, the fact she was here in this godforsaken town was chill worthy enough for her. Although she couldn’t help her return given the extent her beloved went to bring her back.  
Yes, her beloved had promised many things upon their return. One is a large home for them and their children. Two, a clean slate if she remained inactive as a ninja and loyal to the leaf. After discovering her long lost cousin Naruto, she was more than sold to stay put. She smiles at the thought of their family growing into a large and bountiful clan. If she was honest with herself, this is what she had always wanted of her life. If wasn’t for Sasuke saving her, she fears she would never have known this happiness.  
Karin pauses midway through her labors to rest. By now she was soaked with sweat and slightly short of breath. She sits crossed on the floor, attempting to slow her heart rate. With each deep breath, she grows more agitated as her heart continues to pound wildly. Suddenly she looks up, and everything starts to spin in circles. The last thing she hears before she faints is her beloved calling out, “Karin!!”


	7. And The Thunder Rolled

The hospital was a flurry of nurses and medic running from one end of the large establishment to the other. Some might have surmised a full moon on the rise given all the excitement. Around a corner, Lady Shizune barks orders out,   
“Becky with the good hair, room one! Tay with the snaggle tooth, room nine and Amber you’re with me!”  
She tucks her files beneath her arms and greets the next victim in line in the emergency room.  
“How may we help you?" Shizune greets the pale woman with a smile. Behind the lady, a boy peeks from her skirt.  
“I don’t think his arm is supposed to bend like that.." The woman pulls the shy boy forward. The nurse behind lady Shizune gasp in horror. Sure, enough the boy’s arm had become twisted like a gnarly branch. Lady Shizune only sighs. Lord knew this story was going to be long and tenacious.   
Outside the sky lets out a deep rumble followed by a deep cracking noise. The hospital doors bust open just as the heaven unleashes its floodgates once again. Stunned, Lady Shizune can only gape at the figure before her as the pale mother prattles on about her child. At the door, a frantic Sasuke holds a significant person on his back.  
“Lady Shizune help!” he bellows.   
She snaps out of it and jumps into action. She hands the mother off to the nurse Amber while waving Sasuke back to a room. Inside the small room, Sasuke lays his lover down gently whispering sweet nothings.  
Shizune pays it no mind as she goes to take the woman’s vitals. “What happened Sasuke.”   
Sasuke steps back as the medic takes control of the situation.   
“She was cleaning outside and collapsed.”   
Shizune continues to make notes as she determines the woman’s illness. So far, she could only tell the woman was dehydrated yet still…. Shizune knew this woman was a highly skilled Kunoichi by the bright red of her hair. However, something did not add up to her. She takes one look up at the stoic Sasuke for further explanations. He only answers with a heavy silence that she can’t make heads or tails of it.   
She sighs and rubs her face tiredly.   
“Alright, I’m going to treat her for dehydration and heat exhaustion.” She informs him with wary.   
Lady Shizune sets about her business while the silent man takes a seat at the nearby window. Before him, the city seemed like it would drown by the onslaught of rain.

Meanwhile, Sakura and Ino managed to make it back to their respected houses before the downpour erupted. Sakura sighs heavily and decides to check her messages. She presses play on the recording then proceeds to make some tea.  
Beeeep. "Hey Sakura, it’s me Naruto. Calling to see if you’re okay, Call me back. Hai!” Beep. Click.  
“Sakura Haruno, it's your mother!” The shrill voice makes the Pinkett freeze in guilt for a brief second.   
“Call Me as soon as you get this young lady! “click.  
Sakura groans into her cup of tea, she had forgotten to call her mom the last few times. She needed to call her back before the old banshee thought it wise for an unexpected visit. Sakura shudders at the impending horror. She could only imagine her mother’s disapproval of her messy home.  
Beep. “Sakura its Shizune. I need a favor…. What do you want !!!!... For the love of Christ…. Just had me the damn thing!!...."   
Sakura hears a heavy sigh.  
"Look I need some relief for a few hours, you mind checking in?” click.  
Sakura can’t help chuckle at Lady Shizune. One Hell of a woman but not much of a people’s person she thought amused. She wouldn’t be surprised if she had a stack of complaints about the lady in the morning. She sips her tea in silent amusement as her machine clicks into the last message.  
“Sakura ….” That voice, she knew even in the deepest of sleep.  
"We need to talk.” Click.   
Fuck. Shit. Fuck Shit. Sakura's mind couldn’t determine which word described that bastard more accurately. Did she want to go through with this open-heart dissection with him…? Her eyes search out the clock and note the end of the hour approaching. Well, Shizune did need a break, Sakura surmised.   
Our heroine dawns her medic gear and poncho for the ever-rainy weather. As she leaves, she calls her mother briefly to let her know she’s alive. Although her mother claims otherwise since she never calls, Sakura can only sigh before quickly hanging up. Then poof she transports to the hospital emergency room where it looked like someone blew chunks covered in blood everywhere.  
“Status Report Now!!!” Booms Sakura.   
She quickly jumps to the nearest villager. From around the corner, a mousy nurse comes rushing to her aid.   
“Local shop collapse due to unexpected water damage. Multiple civilians injured, all critics are in the O.R with Shizune or in recovery." She informs.  
“HAI!” Sakura nods and begins to administer her medical chakra into the civilian gashed face.  
Hours passed in a matter of minutes it seemed to Sakura. Or at least that is what it felt like to her when so many people piled in injured. Lucky for her she had trained her staff thoroughly for moments like this. Thus, she managed to ensure the safety of all the victims involved plus she managed to heal most civilians with no scars to boot. However, as the last patient says their goodbye, Sakura finds herself utterly exhausted. Shizune, on the other hand, crashes on the sofa in her office before Sakura could suggest they grab a bite to eat. So, Sakura pops a soldier pill and continues with Shizune's’ rounds.  
Sakura grabs the medical file from the nurses as she rounds the corner.   
“You got five patients. Three long terms. Shinobi. And two possible discharges.” The nurse informs her. “Also, they need in you in the O.R an hour for the amputee.”   
Sakura nods her head the nurse and heads to her first patient.  
Behind curtain number one we had a rowdy young Guinean with multiple broken ribs and a cracked wrist. The kid was swaddled up like a toddler with his teammates sitting at his bedside giving him hell. All in all, the kid was well if not a little stir crazy.   
Curtain number two and three shared a room. Both were anbu with a severe injury that was barely stitched back together. As of yesterday, neither had woken from their medical induced commas. Sakura goes about her usual testing with a heavy sigh. These two members were strong Shinobi, if not some the leaf’s best. She could only pray they would make a full recovery. A few notes later she was ready to go. At least she would have had she not so gracefully smacked into a solid chest of muscle in the doorway.  
“Seriously.” She barks as she stands back. Before her, a smirking Yamato looks down at her.   
“Your face seems to like my chest since its always glued to it lately.” He teases.   
Sakura rolls her eyes as a blush creeps up on her cheeks.  
“Whatever. At least this time you have a shirt on. Otherwise, your nipples would have poked my eyes out.” She huffs with arms crossed at her chest.  
The two shinobi’s eyes clash for a brief hot second. Then they both erupt into laughter.  
“Fair enough.” Yamato shakes his head at the ridiculous woman.   
“So how do they fair today?” Yamato leans head over at the two sleeping Shinobi. Sakura sighs.  
“They are healing buts it’s going to be a while before they awaken.” She tells him sadly.  
The silence that followed her statement said it all. The big IF… which was always concerning in extreme cases such as theirs. She pats Yamato shoulder soothingly before silently taking her leave. He catches her wrist lightly. She stops as he tugs her back.   
“Have you eaten tonight?” The concern in his golden-brown eyes made her beat just a little faster.  
“I’m fine.” She says with a big smile.   
Slowly she pulls away but not without him pegging her with a stern look. She sighs in silent defeat.   
“It has a been hectic night; I have not had the chance,” She mumbles as he grins.  
“So Icha Ramen’s then.” He smiles as if he won something from her.  
Sakura crosses her arms stubbornly.   
“I can’t leave the hospital for the next few hours.” She challenges.  
Yamato matches her stance but stands to his full height. Sakura was not easily intimidated, I mean really, she trained with the fox kid for Christ sake. Still, the magnificent sight of Yamato before her in all his ninja gear made her weak in the knees. She determined she needed to get her shit together.  
“Who said you had to leave. Besides, it's my treat.” He pops her with a questioning brow.   
She had her refusal right on her tongue …because…well…. Her stomach decides to announce its hunger with the wailing of a dying whale. Yamato laughs while she sighs with defeat.  
“Fine,“ she surrenders, “Meet me in my office in an hour and a half.”   
With that, she leaves the room and off to her next patient. Secretly she hopes they are brief and uncomplicated. She was unexpectedly looking forward to the man’s company.  
Curtain number four held a little boy in an arm cast. He was currently chatting a giddy nurse while his mother fretted over the large cast. Sakura double checked his vital and sent him home with tons of signature from the staff and a pill to ease his mother growing anxiety.  
Curtain number five came up, and she becomes energized. She could practically smell the ramen already. Her belly growls in agreement. With a light heart, she enters the room and greets the patient.   
“Hello,” She looks at her file, "Karin. I’m Sakura Haruno, and I’m here to check up on you this evening.”  
Sakura smiles at the pale redhead who peers at her with suspicion.   
“Where is the other lady at?” She looks Sakura up and down like she had cooties or something.   
Agitation jerks at Sakura’s brow, but she smoothed it away as she checks the woman’s vitals.   
“Lady Shizune is currently occupied, I’ll be handling your case until further notice. How do you feel?” Sakura asks professionally.  
“Lousy,” the redhead's blunt reply, "Otherwise I wouldn’t be here. Can I go home now?”   
The redhead huffs before rubbing her stomach absent-minded. Sakura notes the circular motion of the woman’s hand. She clears her throat and busies herself with her paperwork.   
“Well,” Sakura double checked her paperwork, “Everything seems fine, your fully hydrated now as of an hour ago.”  
Karin’s head perked up at the news. Quickly she scrambles out of the hospital bed.   
“Good I’ll be going now,” She chirps with glee.  
Sakura looks up to the ceiling with frustration. Impatient patients irritated the pink hair fiercely.   
Just as the redhead approaches the door, Sakura steps in her way. The two Kunoichi straighten to full height with heated eyes locked in a mean gaze. Neither backed down as the minutes slowly ticked. Finally, Karin grins as she crosses her arms about her chest.   
“What did you say your name was again.” She sneers.  
“Sakura Haruno. How far along are you?” Sakura demands.   
Karin steps back as she peers at the obnoxious Pinkett. She was a keen one, Karin determined. Not to mention she was one of the legendary Sanin, which meant this one of her lover’s closest friends. Karin sighs before relaxing her stance. Sakura follows her stature as she loosens her poise as well.  
“Last I checked I was three months along,” Karin informs.  
Sakura nods before noting as much in her charts.  
She doesn’t look as she speaks, "Next time you're here, you need to mention so. Your dehydration could be fatal for the baby if you’re not careful.”   
She rips off a piece of paper with a number on it. She hands it to the redhead who stares at it as if rabies were on it.   
“The hell is this.” Karin peers at the pink haired woman with intelligent eyes.   
“Call this place and set up an appointment,” Sakura tells the woman kindly.   
A tense silence follows before Sakura sighs with exhaustion. “It’s for you to go see a baby doctor.” She explains.  
“Oh. I don’t need any doctor for my baby. I am a medic after all.” Karin rolls her eyes but doesn’t throw the paper away.   
Sakura’s brow twitches as she clenches her had around her medical file.  
“Perhaps, but you’re not leaving this hospital until you agree to set up an appointment.” She threatens with a creepy wide smile.   
The weird smile sets Karin back. Dumbly she nods to the agreement.  
“Good,” Forced Sakura.  
She fills out the rest of her paperwork before meeting Karin’s eyes once again. “You're free to go.”   
She twists on her heel and promptly goes to leave. Her hand grasps the door handle tightly before thrusting it open with more force than necessary. As the door swings open, a large man fills the doorway.  
Sakura gasp in surprise, "Sasuke!?”  
“OH, lover you’re here!” Calls a giddy Karin from behind Sakura.  
The lights were dim, yet Sakura knew damn well that woman could see the man before. Hell, the guy towered above them both at a solid six feet. A look of confusion screwed Sakura's face as her eyes meet his.   
“Lover?” Sakura’s brow perked up at the man.   
He only grimaces at her in return. A flurry of red hair pushes her aside. Sakura stumbles back in shock as Karin throws herself into Sasuke’s arms. He catches her with ease, and to Sakura’s horror, he does not push her away. Nor does his sad eyes leave her.  
“Oh, honey I’m so glad you’re here.” Karin chimes, ignorant of the shinobis’ odd behavior.   
Instead, she tips toes up in his arms and kisses his cheek lightly. She turns around to an astounded Sakura.   
Karin smiles broadly, “Lady Haruno just said I was good to go.”  
“Y-y-y..” Sakura clears her throat as she finally breaks eye contact. "Yes.” She finally spits out.  
“OH yeah, and she gave me the number to a baby doctor." Karin looks up to her lover with worry look as he remained silent.  
"Don’t fret love our baby is fine, right Lady Haruno?”  
Sakura’s world dims down to this speck of dirt on the tile in front of her feet. She could hear the fierce red-haired woman speaking. None of the words reached her as a white buzzing noise filled her head. The sound was loud and overpowering. She couldn’t focus on the blur around her except for this little speck of dirt. The only thing filling her mind was the single word, what. What What. WHAt.WHAT. WHAT.WHAT.WHAT. The buzzing noise claps just as thunder rocked the hospital. Finally, the buzzing stops as Karin shout in surprise at the rolling thunder.  
Karin was Sasuke’, other women. The same woman who was carrying his child…. Sakura ignored the woman’s questions as she pushes past the two soon to be parents.   
“Sakura Wait!!!” Sasuke pleads.   
She ignores his thick voices and quickly gets out of there. However, he did not have it.   
No, he runs after her down the hall with a confused Karin shouting, “Lover!”  
Sasuke grabs Sakura’s shoulder and pulls her back. A blazing blue fist swings around and connects with his face. His entire body slams into the wall beside them. The building shakes from the impact followed by a delayed CRACK. Sasuke collapse to the ground with a gasp. From down the hall, people come running led by a screaming Karin.   
Sakura didn’t know she had hit the bastard until her fist connected, she didn’t even realize she had swung until that point either. Her anger burned like lava in her veins. She slowly turns to the lump of a man on the floor. She cracks her knuckle as she starts toward him. She was going to beat him to a bloody pulp if was the last thing she ever did. The man gets to his feet as she approached him again. Slowly he brings his face up to hers. She is satisfying to see his regular pale face bruising with her handprint.   
She raises her fist to hit him again when he whispers, "Sakura, I’m so sorry.”   
Her fist stays poised as people began to shout and run toward them. She looks the bastard in his miserable face. The sorrow etched into it was enough to make tears well up in her own eyes. Her fist starts to shake before she drops it to her side.   
“I fucking hate you.” She chokes out.   
Her tears spill of their own accord down her flaming cheeks. With a poof, she transports out of the hospital as a distraught Karin embraces her wrecked lover.


	8. 16 Shots

Yamato lets out a deep sigh as she leaves the room. He can still smell her faint scent of flower petals as he approaches his teammates. From a civilian point of view Yamato’s present doesn’t seem out of the ordinary. After all the ninja tends to take care of their own.  
Furthermore, none of his fellow shinobi would understand the guilt that he carried for the two-injured ninja. He steps lightly between the beds. To his right laid an older Kunoichi who was his right hand. To his left was their medic shinobi. It had been a simple gathering mission. Somewhere on their way back, they had been ambushed by rogue ninja from the bingo book. Outmatched by a 3-1 ratio, they had gone on the defensive. Yamato sighs heavily at his reminiscing.   
It was a humid, night yet they were making great ground on their way home. They were about 15 miles outside Konoha city walls when the world lit up in a blaze of glory. Fire encased the trio in a hot white flash. From the fire steps out the leader, who wore a demon mask over his face.  
“Surrender your kunai or Surrender lives.” The man calls in a vibrating tone.  
Immediately they go on the defense pulling weapons and signals. In a flash, the man disappears only to be replaced by five more similar shinobi. The clang of Kunai rang out through the night after that Yamato could recall the smell of seared flesh and harsh cries. By the time they broke the fire circle, the kunoichi was being supported by Yamato as they took a run for it.   
The bastard leader intervened them in a cranny as the medic was healing her. Yamato went head to head in hopes of buying time. Their battle had been long and drawn out while simultaneously pulling Yamato further away from his team. By the time Yamato had slit the fuckers throat, he had realized his mistake and was too late. His fellow teammates were gutted and left for dead. Lucky enough Yamato had enough in him to stabilize them and transport them back to the village via shadow clones. Once he had reached the gate, he passed out from exhaustion.  
Thus, he was mentally beating himself up at his teammate's bedside. After the ambush, the Hokage decided to take him off rotation until his Anbu team recovered to full health. Although in some small way, he was not bitching. After all, he had a beautiful pink haired Kunoichi to keep him preoccupied. Although admittedly when he first discovered his attraction to her, he had been taken back by it. His mind briefly flashed to team sevens fight at the bridge with Orochimaru. He recalled Naruto losing his shit like always before blasting everyone away as he chased after the snake bastard. The moment Yamato had caught the dazed Kunoichi he strangely found his heart-tugging. From there it only grew the more he worked with team seven. Although at the time he was desperately trying to run from the very idea. He couldn’t remember just how many women he lured to his bed to erase the imprint she had left on him.   
Finally, after the last mission, he finally decided to say fuck it! He was going to pursue her come hell or high water. And he had no intention to stop till he devoured her entirely.  
Outside the clouds light up with sheet lighting followed by a loud thunderclap. Yamato realizes he has stayed longer than intended when lost in his thoughts. He shakes his head before taking one last look at his recuperating team. He sighs before transporting out. After all, he had an enticing date to look forward too.  
The hospital room grows silent except for the slow inhales of the sleeping Shinobi. From the shadows, a small figure creeps out. Shrouded in a large blanket the person slowly approaches the two shinobi with care. The shadowy figure lights up their hand before scanning the two bodies. If the reports were right, these sleeping Shinobi were empty shells in need of a suitable host. It was the figures job to create an opening for the rogues to obtain these vessels. Carefully their hands move across the bodies before resting on their collective heads. The person concentrates with a hard intensity while slowly pushing chakra into their brains to create a metaphysical door for the soul transfer jutsu to go through. The person just finished their task as their tripwire signals them to an immediate intruder. Grinding their teeth, they poof out without a sound.  
The bodies never stir to the disturbance. Both remain resting and ignorant of the world around them. Outside the storm builds to a crescendo again before thundering out. The force of it shakes the hospital with a fierce intensity. Then just as the vibration dies down another thunderous clap racks the walls again. Except piggybacking on the sound is a sharp clicking noise as three rouge ninjas appear in the lone hospital room. Two begin furious hand signals as a woman lets out a fierce scream.  
“Now!” hissed the third Ninja. With a clap, the two rogues let loose their jutsu and transfer their collective souls into the two Anbu Shinobi. The third ninja swiftly transports out with the two limp bodies. Peoples voices flood by the room as the two sleeping Shinobi suddenly awaken from their deep slumber.

Despite the downpour, the city of Konoha was lively with cheer this fated night. After last night’s spectacle at the bar, the entire village knew of Naruto’s and Hinata’s engagement. Thus, Yamato finds himself witnessing the amusing scene of Naruto getting the third degreed by Hinata’s teammates at the infamous Ichin Ramen shop.   
“Seriously Kiba your breath reeks.” Whined Naruto as he leaned back from the dog users face.  
“Shut it bird brain. I’m asking the questions!” The two shinobi collide heads with heated menacing glares. Shyly Hinata steps between the two and pull them apart.  
“C-come on g-guys cut it out." Her soft voice breaks the idiots of their glaring contest.   
They each back off respectively to their seat. From next to Kiba, Akamaru barks out with cheer. Shino pets the animals head absent-mindedly.  
“But seriously you two, are you sure about this?” The man was known for his stiff posture and even sterner voice.   
Naruto bristles at the question but before he blows his top Yamato step up and pats his shoulder reassuringly. Naruto lets out a deep breath before shooting Yamato a warm smile.  
“Absolutely!” Naruto shouts with enthusiasm toward Hinata’s teammates.   
Slowly he rubs the side of Hinata’s face softly as a soft look falls across his face. “She will always be my one and only.”  
“HAI!” replies Hinata as she sighs into his large palms.  
Yamato suppresses the world’s most extended sigh. Of all the years training with the moron, he was glad to see the kid come to his senses regarding the Hyuga girl. After all, it was no secret to anyone except Naruto about her affections. Still, it warmed Yamato’s heart to know the kid had found love after all his suffering.  
Naruto’s sincerity seemed to get across to the two solemn Shinobi. Slowly they broke out into a smile before embracing the pair. At that time Teuchi pops up near the counter.   
“Evening Yamato, the usual tonight.” Yamato stands off toward the end of the bar and nods his head at the noodle master.  
“yeah but make it for two tonight please.” he requested with a secret smile.  
The Noodle master pops a questionable brow at his regular’s unusual request. The man only shrugs his shoulder not offering any explanation. The noodle master laughs before tending to his work. Next to Yamato, the crowd of younger shinobi toast to the happiness of the engaged pair. The flap of the tent suddenly pops open and in walks the enigma known as Genma.   
“Whoa, hello guys.” The man waves his hand sheepishly at the crowd. They all call their polite hellos before going back to their conversation. Sighing Genma takes the seat on the far side of Yamato.  
“How does it go, buddy,” Genma says with a smile as he claps the other ninja on the back.  
Yamato shrugs his shoulders.  
“Same old, same old.” He replied casually.   
Genma cocked his head at the man. He was acting off according to Genma’s Spidey senses. Perhaps it a certain pink haired Kunoichi he thought devilishly.  
“Cool. How was the cherry blossoms the other day?” he tested.  
The senbon in his mouth clicked across his teeth as he eyed the man suspiciously. Yamato’s body suddenly tenses before relaxing into a forced poise.  
“Beautiful this time of the year. How about those daises.” He quips back to the older Shinobi. Genma laughs at the fool.  
“I tell you what; it’s quite the delicacy. Thinking about tasting it again soon.”  
Yamato rolls his eyes while Genma merely smirks at him.  
“Is eating flowers like an old man thing?” Inquires Naruto, who happen to eavesdrop on their exchange.  
Yamato groans as his face hit the counter. Genma can only laugh at the idiot. Naruto looks between the two shinobi with confusion before shrugging it off.  
“Genma-sama have you heard the news yet?” Naruto was practically bouncing up and down in his chair with excitement.  
“I did congrats!” He raises his glass of Saki in cheer.   
The flaps of the tent open again with a ragging green suit yelling at the top of his voice.  
“HEAR YE HEAR YE!!!!” Everyone grimaces at the loud intruder but pays it no mind.   
Lee clears his throat and speaks again in a lower tone, " I declare the rookie nine celebrate tonight at the BBQ shack in light of our newlyweds!!”   
Ten Ten, who came in behind Lee sighed at the man’s full comment. "I’m sorry guys I tried to talk him out of it.” She sends Hinata an apologetic look before smacking Lee upside his head.  
“What was that for!” whines Lee with pouty eyes.   
“For being loud!” TenTen shouts.  
The group laughs at the dynamic before agreeing to meet up at the spot. With a fierce shout, Lee storms out to alert the rest of the squads. TenTen groans but follows her overly enthusiastic teammate.   
“To have just an ounce of that energy now.” Mumbles Genma. Yamato grins but nods his head in agreement.   
“alrighty Yamato order for two up and ready!” Calls the Noodle master.  
Genma narrows his eyes at a sheepish Yamato. The man pays the old geezer, hoping Genma wouldn’t ask too many questions although today was just not his lucky day.  
“Ramen for two huh.” Genma’s senbon swishes from side to side.  
“Yuuuuuupppp.” Yamato meets the man’s eye in a locked gaze.   
Each shinobi were looking for the others defeat or surrender. Neither gave until Naruto clasped Yamato shoulder.  
“hey, Yamato-sensei can you do me a favor?” The blonde asked as the others paid for their meals.  
Yamato looked to the kid with a rueful smile. “Sure, what’s up?”   
Naruto rubs his head sheepishly, "Can you let Sakura know about tonight for me. I got to go find the bastard; he’s never an easy one to locate.”  
The grin crossing Yamato’s face was pure coincidence. “Yeah, no problem.”  
“great!” The blonde hugged his Sensei quickly before being dragged away by an annoyed Kiba.  
"Feel free to join us!!” He calls to the two older Shinobi before disappearing behind the flaps.  
Yamato tightens his grip on the ramen bag. Behind him, Genma clicks his senbon needle.  
“How about that.” He smirks as Yamato’s shoulder tense briefly.  
Yamato glance back at his old comrade, the fucker was as sharp as ever.  
“Enjoy your daisies," Yamato calls with a smirk of his own.  
“You as well!” his friend retorts with laughter. Yamato smile stretches from ear to ear as he transports out the noodle shop.

The storm outside was a fierce one. Left and right the skies lite up like the fourth of July. The illuminated dark skies gave way to screaming victims caught in its hectic downpour. Bodies scurry from place to place to outrun this cursed miracle of rain. Lucky for Yamato his transportation jutsu provided the excellent escape from all the wetness. As he stands before the Pinkett’s office door, doubt began to worm its way into his mind.  
The what ifs were maddening. What if Sakura only wants to be friends? What if she doesn’t feel the same way as him? What if his actions have been out of line? Dear god, what if he was just a lecher!?   
Poor Yamato sighs heavily at the intrusive thoughts. But…. What if she feels the same? A little glimmer of hope lite itself in his chest. The flash of hope gave him the courage he needed as he knocked on the wood door. A moment passes before someone grumbles something. Yamato, thinking nothing of it, enters without hesitation.  
Just as the office door opens, Lady Shizune pops up from the couch.   
“So, help me Christ if this about the twisted arm kid I will rip your head off!!” She shakes her fist wildly while her eyes remained closed.   
Yamato freezes as if caught sneaking.  
It takes him a moment to process her words before he finally clears his throat.  
Lady Shizune rubs her eyes with a yawn before opening them up. She was admittedly surprised by the grown man froze mid-step in Sakura’s office.   
“Are you lost?” She asks sleepily.   
Yamato quickly straightens himself up. “No ma’am, I was looking for Sakura, is she done with her rounds?”   
Shizune scratches her head then looks up at the clock.  
“Well," she begins.  
From outside the room, a loud crack echo throughout the hospital. The two shinobi go on high alert as they both jump to action. Lady Shizune immediately takes off toward the sound. Yamato quickly follows as he places the food at the desk. They jog down the hallways till they both caught sight of a large crowd gathering.   
“Move! Move! “Shouts Shizune as she elbows her way through the thick crowd.   
Yamato sticks close to the medic. Vaguely he scans the crowd for any unknown faces. Eventually, the group gives until the older shinobi are standing before a bedraggled Sasuke and a hysterical Karin.  
Shizue’s face tightens at the sight of the two.   
“What happen Uchiha.” She demands with crossed arms.  
Karin throws eye daggers at the intrusive woman before coming to his aid.  
“Your doctor is what happens!” She yells meeting Shizue’s opposing stance.   
Shizune narrows her eyes at the woman before briefly accessing the kid’s injury. Whoever hit him had one hell of a hook, she thought.  
“Which Doctor?”   
That’s when it dawned on her. Inwardly she groans as Karin spits with venom, “Sakura Haruno.”  
All around the crowd begins to whisper in hush tones. Shizune grits her teeth and shares a worried look with Captain Yamato. Silently he takes charge of the bunch. He faces the gathering of concerned people with a calm exterior. He raises his hands slowly before them all. “Everyone back to their station. Nothing to see here, just a minor dispute.”  
Everyone gives the odd couple one last pitting look before slowly dispersing.  
Once the scene was cleared of civilians Shizune sighs, “What did you do Sasuke?”   
Karin bristles at the woman. “He did nothing. You need to be finding that barbarian of a woman and demand her apology for assaulting my lover!”  
Shizue’s eyebrow twitches with aggravation, but she only grits her teeth in annoyance.   
“You would have me believe that the most leveled head Kunoichi in our village just snapped and land a hit on one our fastest Shinobi?”  
She peers around the angry redhead as Sasuke picks himself off the floor.   
“You took the hit, which means you started this.” She turns a shrewd eye to the red-headed. “And you are supposed to be resting due to your dehydration.”  
Karin huffs as she crosses her arms across her chest. Sasuke puts a heavy hand on the angry woman.  
"She is right Karin. You need to rest.” Sasuke winces as she turns those fiery orbs on him.   
“For our child” he intones softly. The woman’s features soften at the mention.  
“Your right.” She admits with a small smile.   
She gives him a small kiss on the unscathed cheek. She pins Lady Shizune with a menacing look before leaving the trio behind. However, as her steps echo down the hall Sasuke sighs, he lightly touches his throbbing face. The two older Shinobi are waiting with tapping feet for an explanation.  
“I…” HE begins but fades as words escape him.   
Lady Shizune sighs heavily. “You haven’t told her yet had you?”  
Sasuke nods mutely.   
Yamato sighs, “You guys need to settle this like adult.”  
Sasuke snorts, "That’s rich coming from the guy banging her.”   
Immediately the two squares up to each other. Both emitting enough chakra force to choke a small dog. Shizune can only roll her eyes. Men and their egos, she swore silently. She steps between the two and pushes them apart.  
“Enough!” She growls. “You both need to go look for her and resolve this situation!”   
She gave them both a stern finger and a pointed look.   
“I’ve fucked things up, but I intend to set them straight. Preferably without the nuisances.” Sasuke says through clenched teeth.  
He sends one last glare at Yamato before poofing out. Yamato can only scoff at the brat’s ignorance.  
“Like she would want to see his ugly mug right now.” He murmurs. Lady Shizune can only throw her hands up with exasperation.  
“Whatever, your food is mine now.”   
Yamato opens his mouth for a retort. Except for one glare from Lady Shizune shuts him up quick.  
“Consider it your payment for interrupting my nap. Besides shouldn’t you be looking for someone?” With that said she spins on her heel toward the gathering of the nurse at the end of the hall. Yamato sighs but does as he is ordered to do.


	9. Revelations

The torrent of ran never let up as Sakura jumped from one location to the next. Her mind was relentless with memories and emotions. The very weight of it as heavy as her soaking wet clothes. She couldn’t make heads or tails of her swirl of emotions. She wanted to throttle the man, but she also wanted to cry endlessly. Eventually, her jumping subsided, and she finds herself sitting on the swing beneath the giant tree outside the academy. The pit-pat of rain through the leaves help drain out the calamity in her head. Slowly she looks up to the flooding skies and sighs heavily.   
Behind her, a ninja slowly approaches her.   
“For such a smart woman you are daft sometimes.”   
Scared out of her wits Sakura jumps out of the swing with a shout. Her hand flutters up to her pounding chest as her eyes narrow at the intruder. From the shadows, a tall man walks forth and into the overcast light from the academy.  
“You scared the shit out of me Sai!” Sakura huffs before folding her arms across her chest.   
He gives her that weird fake smile.  
“And here I thought you were a better ninja than that, Hag.” He tilts his head while continuing his creepy smile.  
Sakura can only roll her eyes. She messages the bridge of her nose.   
“Yeah well. I’m out of it today.” She sighed  
“Sasuke is back.” He states like he’s talking of the weather.  
Sakura flexes her fingers as they fall to her side. “I know.”   
“So, does that mean you guys are a couple again.” He persisted with that same damn smile.  
“No.” came her clipped reply  
“Why not?”  
“It’s personal.”  
“Says the girl who's been chasing the idiot for years now.”  
“Would you just can it already!” She shouts throwing her hands up in the air.  
Sai straightens himself to full height and drops the smile finally.  
“You know unresolved issues can cause more damage with relationships than avoiding them.”  
“the fuck you know about unresolved issues.” She mutters, her arms bending around her stomach.   
Sai task loudly as he eyes his female teammate, “You know hag; anger does not suit you well.”  
“You got five seconds to explain your presents before I start swinging.” She glares at him with as much contempt as she could muster.  
“I was patrolling the area and see your sad figure loitering around the academy. Perhaps you can take your issues home where they belong.”  
Then just like that, all the anger in Sakura evaporated into the air. A heavy breath left her feeling deflated and remorseful.   
“Your right Sai, I’m sorry.” She tried to return a creepy smile but failed miserably.  
She goes to turn away from the man in defeat, but Sai steps up and quickly hugs her. Shocked, Sakura stands still in his embrace. She feared one wrong move and this weird spell would blow up in her face. A moment passes, and the hug soon becomes awkward.  
“umm…Sai?” Sakura clears her throat.   
The man sighs,” I once read that sometimes a sad friend needs physical affection as assurances that everything is going to be okay.”  
Sakura melts at his kind words. She warmly returns the hug before pulling away.   
“I appreciate it.” She smiles up at the tall man.  
“So, does this mean you are going to the gathering tonight at the BBQ place.” Ask a satisfied Sai.   
Sakura cocked her head with confusion, ” What do you mean?”   
Sai sighs like this was an exhausting conversation. “Everyone has been invited to join dickless and the Hyuga girl in celebration for their engagement.”  
Sakura mouthed formed a giant O at the unexpected news.   
Sai tisked at her again, “You are a useless woman sometimes.”   
She smacks him in the arm at the mention.  
“Whatever,” she grumbles,” I’m guessing you’re not going?”  
Sai smiles broadly, "Of course I am. He is our teammate after all.” Sakura chuckled. “that’s true, are you off soon then?”   
Sai nods in agreement. Sakura sighs as she looks at her soaking wet clothes.   
“Want to meet me at my house when your off? We can head over there together?”  
Sai nods again before waving a giant pasty white hand. “I’ll see you later then Hag.”   
With a poof, the insufferable man disappeared. A loud clap follows a hot streak of lighting. The area around Sakura lights up in a bright flash. In that instant, her emotions become sorted to the point of completion. Sasuke’s betrayal hurt like fire. She refused to let it consume her so. She reflexes’ over their last meeting. It still stung pretty bad, but she knew she acted wrongly. It was time for her to set this right once and for all. 

Karin was angry, sure, why should she not be. The soon to be father of her child had got suckered punch by an obnoxious pink-haired doctor. Friend or not, that was still a shitty move, she determined. Slowly she shuffles back into the hospital bed. Just as she gets settles that ugly black headed nurse comes in with a clipboard.  
“It says here you’ve have been discharged, although given the circumstance I'm inclined to ask you to stay for some additional testing to ensure the safety of your child.”   
Karin can’t help but roll her eyes. “Is this necessary? I’m sure my love would like me to return home.”   
Shizune sighs before rubbing her forehead, “Currently he’s taking care of a personal matter. So, I’m sure you have no problem with a few more test as you await his return.” She smiles forcefully at the frustrating woman who only huffs in return.  
“I suppose.” She grumbles.   
Lady Shizune nods and starts to rattles off about the coming test. Unknown to the seasoned Kunoichi, Karin sent out feelers for those comatose shinobi. To her satisfaction, the two had begun to stir. Abruptly Lady Shizune stops talking as she hears the wailing of machines. Karin grasps her stomach in surprise.  
“What is that!?” she asks worriedly.   
Lady Shizune smiles hesitantly. “It’s nothing to be alarmed about. I’ll be right back.”   
The woman dashes out as a handful of nurses follow right behind her. Karin straightens up, and doubles check the door. Slowly she gets up and makes her way to the bathroom. Crammed in the small space is the two comatose Shinobi Although given their bright eyes and animated limbs they were far from such a state. Karin shuts the door softly behind her before appraising the two.  
“Mission status.” She commands.  
“Infiltrate and obtain intel on guard routine,” They both state in a monotone voice.  
“Days till infiltration?”   
“10.”   
“One last thing before you go.” She smiles slowly as her hands become perched on her hip.   
The two shinobi straighten to full height at her command. “Infiltrate and exterminate Sakura Haruno.”   
The two shinobi nods sharply before disappearing before her. Karin listens intently to the door. She hears footsteps approaching her door then silently flushes her toilet. A moment later Karen fixes her bemused face into one of exhaustion. She opens the door with a giant huff.   
“I swear this baby has me peeing like six times a day!” She exclaims to a frazzled Lady Shizune.

 

Across town, a group of young shinobi rush to the BBQ place. Each one chats excitedly of the news regarding their favorite knuckle headed Ninja. Yamato can only sigh in defeat as he watches the group enters the warm place.  
“Why do you look like someone kicked your puppy?”   
Yamato rolls his eyes as Genma pops up next to him beneath the yawing of a closed shop. The man’s senbon clicks across his mouth as he watches his dear friend quietly.  
“So, your dinner date didn’t go as plan, I assume?”  
Yamato sighs as his crossed arms slowly fall away.   
“Something like that.” He admitted. “She ran away again.”  
“Again!?” Genma’s mouth pops open wide in surprise. He catches his senbon before it falls out.  
“Dear Jesus, why are you making her runaway.”   
Yamato shoots him an annoyed look. “It’s not me I assure you.” He mumbles.   
His eyes catch sight of a black cape fluttering into existence at the door entrance. To his slight amusement, he notes the lack of a pink haired companion. It seems the kid couldn’t find her either. Although the man assumed that if she had wanted to be located, she would make her self-known to whoever. Still, he had talked her from the edge once with that insufferable brat but he feared this new bomb would be the undoing. A part of him was secretly glad for the upset. Although he mentally kicks himself for the intrusive thought. After all, they were all essentially a team. Unrest like this could mean life or death on a mission. Worry gnaws at Yamato, but he pushes it aside with a grunt. Moments later another pair of Shinobi appear at the BBQ place. To Yamato’s relief, it was Sakura accompanied by Sai. He notes her smiling face and determines his work complete for the night.  
“Feel like getting a drink?” he asked his nosey friend.   
Genma clicks the senbon thoughtfully. He had caught the narrowed look from his friend and the Uchiha kid. He could only assume his friend had the cases of the cockblocking from his former teammates. He chuckles to himself. As the new pair of Shinobi walk into the restaurant, he could help but feel like there was something else missing. Sighing he looks to his stern friend with a smile.  
“Sure, why not? It’s not like I had anything important planned.”   
With a poof, the two older Shinobi make way for the nearest bar.


	10. The Shadows Of Men

The night was in full swing. Despite the torrent of rain and lighting, the young crowd of ninjas gathers. Sakura and Sai make a late appearance but not short of enjoying a good time. Sakura parted from Sai as she joins Ino toward the end of the long table. The long-haired Kunoichi was three shots deep into her bottle and pawing over a very angry Shikamaru. Sakura sighs before pulling the delirious woman away.   
“Ease up Pig, you know he’s engaged to the sand girl,” Sakura whispers into her ear.   
Ino huffs but directs her attention elsewhere.   
“Well, well…Nice shiner Saskue-kun!” Calls Ino over the voices of her fellow ninjas.   
Sakura groans into her hand as her eyes fall to the stoic man three seats down. The man merely flips Ino the bird as the others laugh good-naturedly at the dynamic. At the center of the table, Lee hops onto the counter with great enthusiasm.  
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of our very own, Hinta Hyuga and Naruto Uzumaki.”   
Everyone stops their feet or glass in unison.   
“May they have a long and prosperous marriage!!” With a shout from all, they all take a celebratory shot.  
Lee hops down and begins barraging the soon to be a married couple with tidbits of drunk wisdom. Sakura gets a good laugh from it before Ten Ten pulls him away by the ear. Next, to Sakura, Kiba grins wholeheartedly.   
“Boy what I wouldn’t give to have her tug at me like that.”   
Sakura can only look at her wolfish friend with utter shock before being pulled away by an impatient Ino.   
“The hell Ino,” Grumbles Sakura as her friend pulls her up out of her chair.  
“I need smokes,” She pouts.  
Sakura rolls her eyes but follows the blonde toward the door. A firm hand on Sakura’s shoulder holds from exiting the door, however. She turns slightly to see a concerned Naruto waiting on her.   
“Leaving so soon?” He asks with those big puppy eyes.   
Sakura can’t help but feel like she kicked her favorite dog. She opens her mouth to reply only to be beaten to the punch by Ino.  
“Chill bro we’re just going for a smoke run will be back.”   
Those bright eyes look back and forth between the girls before finally settling on Sakura.  
“Okay, I just figured after today.” he murmurs with worry.  
Sakura sighs but rubs his head fondly.  
“Don’t worry about it Naruto. I wouldn’t have missed this for the world.”   
He gives her that big dopey smile before shaking his head and heading back toward his future wife. Sakura’ heart constricts for a moment for her cherished friend before finally leaving with a nagging Ino.  
“Bitch you don’t even smoke.” Sakura gripes as they dash from one yawning to the other.   
Soon they come across a lone booth still opened and selling smokes.  
“As of now, I do.” Ino sasses with a sway of her hips as the girls run beneath the booth.  
Sakura can only pin her friend with a long look. “So, the fact a certain lazy ninja mentioned he hated a woman who smokes, has no effect on you?”   
Ino snorts but shakes her head.  
“Or the fact you openly complain about said Ninja smoking nonstop for the past year or so.” Added Sakura.   
Ino pays for a cheap pack of smokes then proceeds to light up a cigarette before the skeptical pinked haired female.  
Sakura rolls her eyes only to be startled by a giant hand at her back. She balls up her fist and swings as she yelps in surprise. Her suitor has the good senses to duck in time as she turns around. To her astonishment, Sasuke stands before her with a sheepish grin.   
“I’ve earned its better to duck when you start swinging.” He mumbles as Ino snorts with laughter behind her.  
Sakura crosses her arms about her chest as she resists the urge to roll her eyes. Sasuke holds his hands up in surrender.   
“I just wanted to talk Sakura.”   
She eyes the man before sighing. “fine.”   
Ino groans loudly before turning her attention elsewhere. The two ninjas walk away a bit before settling into an awkward silence.   
Above the night sky lights up as the pouring of rain continues. To Sakura’s relief, the showers brought with it, chilly winds and the smell of fresh wet dirt. It soothed her enough to break this weird silence finally.  
“I’m sorry I punched you in the face. I shouldn’t have reacted as such at the hospital.”  
Sasuke touches his eye lightly before smiling faintly.   
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I didn’t intend for you know like THAT.”   
Sakura takes a deep breath as her emotions swell up at his words. She forces the feelings away as she woman’s up.   
“You know what…I probably would have still socked you in the face if you had told me any other time.”   
The two share shit eating grins as they fall into another silence. Behind the tow, Ino lets out a long low whistle. The turn two turns just as Yamato and Genma walk out a bar. Genma whistles back and waves the blonde over. Ino and Sakura share a look of pure mischief.   
“I’ll catch you later Sasuke.” Sakura smiles as she goes to leave with Ino.   
Sasuke’s face goes dark, “He’s bad news for you Sakura.” He warns ominously.   
The clouds clap with thunder and Sakura jerks around to mouth back. Though as lightning lights up the semi-dark street, the man disappears. Sakura growls in frustration as she joins the group under the doorway of the bar.  
“Isn’t it past your bedtime girls," teases a smirking Genma.  
Ino barks out a laugh. Her hand's plant on her hips as she whips that hair from side to side.   
“Whatever Ol ’Man, where you are guys heading.”  
The guys share a long look. Genma clicks his senbon across his teeth as he takes in the sight of the two Kunoichis. Both were alert, firm and so soft looking. He sighs with a smile.  
“Drinking, you think you younglings can keep up?”   
Ino scoffs at the idea,” I’m pretty sure we drank you guys under the table last time.”  
She bumps hips with Sakura who snaps out of her daze.   
“Bring it on Old man.” Sakura teases as she sticks her tongue out.  
The last thing she wanted to do right now was to be sober and sort through these swirls of emotions.  
Yamato steps up to the Pinkett with a sly smile. “Let’s see if you got what it takes.”  
Her eyes meet his in a challenging gaze than with a loud poof they all disperse into the next joint.   
Loud music vibrates around the group as they begin throwing back beer after beer. Sakura eventually lost count of her total. All she could focus on we the sarcastic comments made by her friends and the belly-busting laughter afterward. Finally, the night began to wind down, and the gang finds themselves stumbling out of the last closing joint.   
Ino clings the arm of a sturdy Genma who whispers sweet nothings into her ear. Meanwhile, Sakura finds support in leaning against a wobbly Yamato.   
“You two should get a room!” blurted Yamato at the whispering ninja. Ino giggles as Genma wiggles his eyebrow suggestively. Sakura thumps her friend on the head who merely pouts in return.   
Suddenly Genma stops in the road causing Ino to jerk forward. With a flourish, he rolls Ino into his arms and bows her low before picking her up bridal style. Ino squeals in delight and wraps her arms around his shoulders. They wave their goodbyes before poofing out from sight.  
Yamato and Sakura can only laugh in their wake.   
“You would think the two like each other or something,” Sakura commented.  
Yamato shakes his head in agreement before falling into a comfortable silence in their walk home. Above the skies had let up to a light sprinkle making for a leisurely stroll back. Sakura sighs in peace as the wind blows across her warmed skin. Eventually, the pair make it to her doorstep with only a slight awkwardness surrounding them. However, our buzzed Heroine finds herself at lost for words. Was this moment some simple thanks, or see ya later…. or an invite for some more beers? Sakura’s eyes fall to her feet as she tries to find the right words to say.  
Large warm hand clasp her chin and lift them to meet a pair of kind, friendly, brown eyes. Sakura’s breath catches as she loses herself in the dark depths of those memorizing eyes. Before she knows it, their lips touche in a soft sigh.  
A fire lights in her belly and quickly engulfs her body. Sakura’s arms snake around his broad shoulders to pull him in closer. That hard body forms into hers as his mouth slants across her parted lips. Sakura gasps as his hot tongue slips into her mouth, lighting her entire being into flames. She feels her back pushed against the door as a warm, large hands caress her hips. Sakura moans as she tangles her tongue with his and slowly slips her fingers into his soft hair. Yamato breaks the kiss, leaving them both panting heavily.   
“The door.” His voice is thick as his eyes burn with desire for her.   
Sakura couldn’t speak but followed his instructions regardless.   
The second the door clicked he scoops her up into his arms bridal style and enters the house with a bang. He manages to shut the door quickly before tossing her onto the couch. Sakura doesn’t have the time to be agitated or even embarrassed by her house as that man quickly descends upon her.   
His lips quickly find hers and instantly ravishes it. Meanwhile, those large hands are every bit calloused and rough as Sakura imagined. Slowly they begin their way up the smooth flats of her soft stomach. With each inch, she arches just a bit into every touch. Her hands start to shake from the sudden feeling, but she focuses them on defining the contour of the man’s back. Threw the cloth she could feel the scar of old wounds.  
Yamato bites her pouty lower lip and grins as she gasps in surprise. Her body arches sharply into his causing him to roll his hip down on her. He can’t help but groan at the sweet friction it created for him. He feels those small hands tug at his shirts. Slowly he sits up and jerks the shirt off. He looks down to see those emerald eyes devouring him with a smoldering look. Yamato slowly lowers himself back down to captures her pouty lips in his. He grasps at her hips before pulling them sharply into his. She lets out a small moan then arches once more into him. His fingers slowly find her shirt and start to pull them up. With each inch of flesh revealed Yamato decides to break their heated kiss to place his lips on that sensitive creamy white skin.  
Sakura’s hand claps over her mouth as she watches this man worship her skin in random kisses across her stomach. Some of the places tickled but most of them sent shudders of lust to her belly. Slowly he made his way up to her breast which remained clasped in her bra. He quickly takes her shirt off and slowly peeled back her bra. To his amazement, he sees she has small, pink, perky nipples.  
He sends a heated look to Sakura before taking one into his mouth. Sakura gasp in pleasure as his hot, moist mouth sucks at her tight nipple. Her body shudders with growing lust as he begins to lap his tongue across it.   
Out of nowhere a glass suddenly falls off the counter shattering loudly in the otherwise quiet room. Yamato jerks up with a kunai already in hand as Sakura sits up with her arms across her chest. Slowly Yamato gets up and heads toward the kitchen. Outside the clouds lets out a hellish thunderclap before striking the world with a fierce lightning bolt. In that instance, Sakura’s house lights up to reveal two ninjas in her home. Sakura rolls off the couch as one lunge at her. In the kitchen, Yamato clashes head to head with another.  
Sakura grabs a Kunai from her pouch by the couch and rolls up in time to deflect an incoming ninja star. She flips back into a crouch before going on the defensive. The mystery ninja lunges, swiping in a wide arch as it aims for her face. She easily evades the attack before she throws her armed arm in a full ark that strikes the enemy in their shoulder. She hears them hiss in pain before sweeping her legs out from her in a sudden counter. Her back hits the floor, and she loses her breath suddenly. A large form hops on top of her, pinning her to the floor. Fear suddenly fills her. The only thing she could think of was, not here, not now. She feels them raise their weapon in strike mode. She quickly gathers her chakra in her fist and throws her fist just as they slam their arm down. She feels her fist connect, sending her assailant flying; however simultaneously she feels the burn of the knife as it slams into her collar bone. She hears a sickening crack as the body slams into the wall.   
From the kitchen, Yamato calls out, “Sakura!”   
Sakura slowly sits up, “I’m alive.”   
The lights quickly come on, and she winces at the sudden brightness. Before she knows it, a half-naked Yamato was before inspecting her wound.   
“That looks painful.” He comments with a smirk.  
Sakura rolls her eyes before applying healing chakra to her stab wound. Slowly she pulls the knife out and tosses it aside.  
“Not as painful as the smackdown we gave.” She quips nodding toward the slumped body from across the room.  
Yamato chuckles but agrees. “I’m going to call this in real quick.”   
Sakura sighs but nods. Then before she could even protest, he dips down and steals a quick kiss from her. As the infuriating man walks away, Sakura can’t help but wonder what the hell had she gotten herself into yet she smiled regardless.


	11. Dirty Little Secrets

The hidden village of Konoha was peaceful at times. Though lately, it had more action in recent years than it would like to see. To make matters worse, they suffered a heavy draught. When the rain did come, it nearly drowned them in the process. Too bad the rain couldn't wash all the dirt away. Thus, our lonely Ino mused as she rolls out of Genma's bed once again. Next, to her, a seminude Genma snores lightly into his pillow. Ino smiles fondly at the fool before finally lifting her naked form from the soft bed.  
She broke her rule tonight though given her state of satisfaction she couldn’t find too bad of a fault for it. Except she broke her law; The golden rule at that. Never sleep with the same guy twice, or at least not in the same week. As Ino slowly creeps to the bathroom with her clothes clutch to her chest, she couldn't help but feel…. cheap? She grinds her teeth at the thought.   
A quick hot shower should cleanse her thoughts, she hopes. As the hot spray soothes her flexed muscles, she can’t help but internalize her predicament.   
Damn that Shikamaru! All those years of missions and gatherings, somehow these ungodly feelings began to develop. But he made it abundantly clear his interest lay elsewhere like that behemoth of a woman from the sand. The very idea of her lips on Shika made Ino curl her fist in furry. One deep breath later, she lets it go as sorrow fills her chest. Shikamaru was happy where he was at with Temari. She should be pleased for him as well, but she can’t seem to muster the feeling. So instead she’s been keeping her self-occupied with different guys, all wildly different than Shikamaru. Or at least she thought she was doing so until tonight. That first night with Genma was like being around an older, sassier version of Shikamaru. By the second night, she had found he was more humorous than she could have ever imagined Shika. Now she ran the risk of maybe developing feelings for the older Shinobi. After her last heart crushing confession, she didn't think she could handle another outright rejection. I mean fucking was one thing, but declaring monogamy with someone in a field of work that was fleeting? Yeah, no, Ino would rather keep doing as she had been. Though tonight the prospect of never coming back to Genma's bed made Ino's heart grow heavy.   
Our dear Ino pulls her head from the clouds as she gets out and dresses. Before she leaves the house once and for all, she gives Genma one last kiss. Slowly she bends over the sleeping man then slowly kisses the wrinkle between his brow.   
"Goodbye," She whispers with remorse. With a blink, she was out of the house but only two blocks down. Ino can't help but sigh as she gets caught in the rain. She knew Sleep wouldn't come easy tonight she decides to take the long walk home in the shower. 

In a house far from the nights series of events a young man takes one last drag of his cigarette. He exhales through his nose as he passes the ear of his phone to the other side of his face.  
“tell me again what your wearing.” He demands with a husky voice. The female on the other line giggles but sighs in defeat.   
“I’m in a long…silky…. robe…” Her voice trails off, leaving the man nearly growling with frustration.  
“And beneath that.” He could practically feel her eyes roll at him through the damn phone.  
“Don’t be coy Shikamaru.” She laughs huskily. “You know I always sleep nude.”  
Shikamaru sighs as he leans his head against the wall of his home. He hated the distance between them, Especially on nights like tonight. He throws his bud to the ground before lighting up another one. Threw the hone he hears his love sigh in exasperation. “Are you ever going to kick that nasty habit.” She demanded.   
Shikamaru grins ruefully. “Not even married yet and you’re already nagging me.” He hears her huff defensively and can’t help but chuckle. He loved riding her up, especially before she went to bed.  
“Listen here you enormous jack as- “Shikamaru pulls the phone away as a pair of Anbu suddenly show up before his porch. He winces slightly at Temari’s harsh tone on the phone but quickly puts the phone back to his ear.   
“Something came up. I got to go.” He states quickly.  
“OH, NO! Not again! So, help me, god!” She yells through the speaker as he clicks the end button.  
“This better be good.” He mutters around another drag. Anbu one nods his head.   
“Shikamaru Nara, The Hokage requires your assistance.” The man states matter of fact. Nara sighs. “Of course, he does. “With that, the trio takes off toward the housing district of Konoha.  
To Shikamaru utter surprise they arrive at the house of the famed Sakura Haruno. He squares his shoulders and lifts his head high as the wood door is slowly opened. Before him is a mess of a scene.  
The usual pristine living room looks as if a hurricane hit it then rammed straight into the far back wall. It was apparent to everyone that a struggle occurred. As Shikamaru steps into the warm home, his eyes pick up a few minor details. For one he notes a plain pink shirt under the coffee table with a bloody Kunai next it. The couch cushions are disrupted into an M shape as someone darted very fast off the furniture. He also notes broken glass in the kitchen with blood smears on the otherwise white tile. He couldn’t help but stare weirdly at the large crater in the wall across from the couch and coffee table. Whoever it was had to have suffered dramatically from impact, he surmised. From the kitchen, the Hokage calls, “In here Nara.”   
Slowly Nara walks to the kitchen, keeping his ever-sharp eyes out for details. Hutted in the kitchen was the Hokage, Sakura, and surprisingly Captain Yamato. Sakura sat up on the counter as Yamato fussed over her shoulder. Meanwhile, a very amused Hokage leans against the adjacent countertop. He leans next to the Hokage with a sigh.  
“So, what’s the story this time.” Shikamaru eyes dart back and forth from the opposing Shinobi. Yamato tenses suddenly before moving to Sakura’s side. Sakura huffs at the man before smiling brilliantly at Shikamaru.   
“A pair of assholes invaded my house and attacked my guest and me.” She waves a hand toward Yamato, who crosses his arms about his chest. Much to Nara’s surprise, the man is oddly shirtless. Shikamaru cocks his head at an angle.  
“Why are you, shirtless?” He blurts curiously. The Hokage chuckles but quickly covers it up with cough while Sakura merely blushes furiously. Yamato drops his jaw for a retort but comes up short. He snaps it shut before leaving the crowded area. Shikamaru can only assume he went to put on a t-shirt. He shakes his head before turning his piercing gaze onto Sakura. The girl was flushed like she had finished laps. He also notes she is wearing a black tank top.   
“Do you know these attackers?” Shikamaru continues. Sakura clears her throat.  
“No. But we did subdue them except…” Her eyes fall to the Hokage who picks up the bit of the conversation.  
“Upon investigation, the bodies went up in a burst of flames.”  
Nara does a double take on the Hokage. “ Seriously.” Was all Shikamaru could manage to say at the oddity. The Hokage rolls his eyes at the kid.  
“Well, do you recall any outstanding features of your attackers.”   
Sakura rubs her shoulder with a wincing face. “Not really…. It was dark and.” The girl’s sways as her eyes suddenly glaze over.   
“Sakura!” Shouts Nara as he dashes to her. He catches the frail girl before she falls off the counter.   
“Oh dear.” murmurs the Hokage as Yamato runs into the kitchen. “What happen!” he demands.   
Shikamaru turns the girl in his arms and quickly sees her breaking out in a sweat. His mind flashes to the Kunai in the living room. “Was she stabbed during the fight?” he retorts.  
Yamato’s brows furrow in concentration. “yeah. She pulled it out and healed herself up, though.”  
Sakura takes a deep gasping breath before suddenly jerking wildly. “Move!” shouts Shikamaru as he places the seizing girl on to the floor.   
“Get a medic now!” Kakashi calls to the anbu. “She has been poisoned.” 

Away from the hectic situation, a very solemn Ino drags her feet down the wet pavement. Above the skies kept on with its relentless pit-pat of rain. Which Ino determined was over fucking rated at this point. The shit was cold, wet, and oppressing as fuck. Plus, she was just in one of those moods even though she only had the best orgasm of her life. Still. She sighs heavily before tilting her chin up to the dark grey skies. She needed a damn good distraction she thought wistfully. Her feet pause suddenly as a figure suddenly appears from nowhere. Ino jumps back with Kunai in hand. She quickly drops her guard when she sees its an Anbu.  
“Your medical assistance is needed immediately.” He gushes urgently. Ino nods her head and follows the man quickly. Though as she approaches the destined house, her heart suddenly seizes up in her chest. The Anbu pauses briefly at the door to look back at the Kunoichi.  
“Is there a problem.” He calls with a firm voice. Ino hadn’t realized till then she had frozen to the spot on the sidewalk next to her best friend’s house. She shook her head. She needed to focus, she declared, although her heart beat wildly, she entered the house with dread in her feet.  
In the kitchen, a crowd of Shinobi gathered. “Move it!” she calls determining her patient was in there. They all quickly part as she barges through. Her breath catches in her throat as she sees Sakura jerk wildly around in the floor. The moment passes before she jumps into action. She hops to Sakura’s Head and holds it firmly between her hands. She quickly calls forth her healing chakra and starts running a fast diagnosis of her beloved friend.   
Ino’s brow furrows in concentration as she picks up weird readings of various components. Though currently, the virus in her body was causing wild seizures. She makes quick work of the side effect before moving on. Time seemed to slow to a crawl for the crowd around her as they patiently for her diagnostics. Finally, Ino lets a deep breath and pulls away from her patient. She wipes the sweat from her brow.  
“She’s stable for now. We need to get her to the hospital asap.” Her eyes fall to Shikamaru who nods in agreement. He goes to pick Sakura up only to have his arm held back by a tense Yamato.   
“I got her.” He says thickly. He scoops the girl up and quickly follows the blonde out the door. The Hokage says something to one of the Anbu who immediately follows the trio.   
Shikamaru sighs heavily before turning toward the Hokage. “Have any ideas who would have attacked our most prestige medic? Kakashi rubs his forehead,” I have a few.” He admits wearily.

If it was possible the night grew darker with coming storms on the far horizon. In its darkest corner, a home illuminates softly in the glow of a small candle. Pale hands curl around the base of the torch as the figure tiptoes in the compound. Slowly she makes her way to the farthest end of the rooms before softly blowing the candle out. To her most enormous relief, her lover was quite the heavy sleeper given his history. She sits down on the floor and draws her hand into quick signs before softly clasping them to the level. Her hands glow red briefly before dispersing, making her growls softly in frustration. Those blasted morons had one job — just one fucking job…. Okay, maybe two but still the most important one they’ve failed miserably on…. or maybe not…. Karen grins slyly as the room lights up from the lightning strike. She could yet work this into her favor. The room suddenly burst with light as purple words appear before on the floor. She scans the note before it fades out. She sighs before rubbing her stomach, cautiously. If all played out well, she would leave a far better legacy behind for their glorious child. Content with her quickly made a plan; the fair Karin trots back to bed with a most mischievous smile glued to her face.


	12. Patron Saint Of Lost Causes

Have you ever felt the weight of a storm in your head? You know, the pressure building from days of gathering clouds causing some strange ache in the front of your mind. This pressure affects many people, Sasuke included. Thus, his day starts with a groan and a simple rub of his temple. He notes the lack of company in his bed and sighs heavily. He had got back to Karin late last night. To say she had been furious was a massive understatement. The woman came by her red hair naturally and had the temper to match it. Sasuke smirks to himself as he gets dressed for the day. It would seem he had a thing for violent women.  
His usual walk to the Hokage tower was a rather quiet one this morning. Usually, the village is bursting with life this time of day. Except Sasuke figures the threatening black skies above kept most busy bodies inside today. Still, his usual walk began to feel a bit lonely. He sighs heavily and smirks as he watches his long locks bellow out before him. Sakura always did like long hair, he mused to himself. Remorse follows his thoughts as he remembered their fall out. How did it all come to this, he thought sadly.  
If the shinobi was honest with himself, it stretched back before the war. Sasuke was drunk on power and revenge, so much so he let it consume him. He manages to pull through it with his closest friends by his side. He had asked for her forgiveness, and she graciously gave it to him. After his time spent in prison, he went about making it up to her. However, he soon discovered it was a lot harder to forgive himself; then it was to accept the others forgiveness. Thus, after countless hours of counseling with Kakashi, he decided he needed to leave to get some redemption for his unforgivable sins. Along the way, he meets his love Karen…. Every time he tries to think of how they came together, he always draws up a blank. All he knew was that he was genuinely surprised to realize she was still alive. He remembers coming across her at some point in his trip but…. Sasuke groans as his head throb hotly. 

He pauses mid-step to cradle his face in his hands. In his mind, the words, "I LOVE KARIN," is shouted over and over and over again in Sasuke's throbbing head.

A hard hand clasped to his shoulder snaps the tension building in his head. Surprised, he jerks his head up to see a beaming Naruto before him.   
“You are feeling okay today?” He asked with worry etched into his face. Sasuke huffs as he lets his hand fall.   
“As good as ever. You're bright as usual.”   
Naruto grins wide as he falls into step with his best friend.   
“Yeah. High metabolism and all.”   
The brat lets out a loud yawn in which he rests his slender hands upon his bouncy orange hair. Sasuke smirks at the idiot before rubbing his aching temple. He knew the pain was not related to the previous night’s festivals, learning long ago it never ended well when he drank. Sasuke eyes glance once more at the menacing clouds above. A pressure headache, he decided to himself, that must be it. Naruto elbows the man softly,   
"So I heard you got a lover that’s red-headed?”   
Sasuke groans inwardly. He nods silently and focuses his attention on the road before.   
“Hmm.” come Naruto’s calm reply, “Also heard said redhead is pregnant with your child?”   
Sasuke knew from experience the annoying idiot had one eye peeked at him from beneath those seemingly closed eyes.  
He sighs, “Yes, Naruto.” Came his reluctant answer.   
To Sasuke’s surprise, the guy didn’t freak out nor pause in his step. Instead, the fool kept walking with a shit-eating grin plastered on his face. Sasuke narrows his eyes at the man in suspicion.   
After a long minute of pure cheesing silence, Naruto finally busted like a waterfall,” Hinata’s pregnant too!”  
For a split moment, Sasuke forgot of his temple pain and froze mid-step as he gapes at the fool before him. “What the hell Naruto!” he blurts out.  
The guy frowns at the unwelcoming reaction of his news.   
“Geez Sasuke, way to judge someone.” He snorts as he crosses his arms. “besides at least WE are in engaged.”   
Sasuke cocks his head at the man before shaking away the thoughts of throttling the idiot.  
“Yeah but you’re supposed to wait till AFTER the wedding, idiot!” He bellows.  
Naruto rolls his eyes as his temper began to flare, “Well, it’s not like I randomly knocked her up! What’s your excuse!”  
Sasuke stares at the man furiously as he tried to conjure up any evidence to say otherwise. Except the more, he thought of him, and Karen, the more his temple began to throb. Frustrated, Sasuke growls in defeat before messaging his temple.   
“Whatever is that the reason you’re going to marry her!?”  
Naruto steps back as a look of pure hurt descend upon his face. “Jesus Sasuke what kind of man do you think I am?”   
Sasuke sighs as guilt ate away at his heart. He knew damn well the kind of man his best friend was despite his shortcomings.   
His hand falls to the side as he meets the eyes of his friend, “I’m sorry, Naruto.”  
Naruto composes himself before looking toward the skies; a distant look descends upon his face.   
“I love her Sasuke. It was either I marry her, or her family would force her into an arranged marriage.”   
Sasuke knew well the sticky politics of clans, having been raised by one himself. Seeing the look of love cross the face of his closest companion, he couldn’t help but feel jealous of him. Which was an utter shock to Sasuke given their history and all? Sasuke rubs at his chest, absent-minded.  
“She’s lucky to have you,” he admits, “And I can’t wait to meet my lil niece.” He teases lightly.   
Naruto blanches before busting into a huge smile, “You as well, pal!”  
Together they laugh and resume their walk.  
The two walks around town for a while before deciding to grab a bite to eat. Although as they approach the ramen shop, the Anbu approach them. "What’s the matter!” demands Naruto.  
The Anbu stiffens before the two legends and states, “The Hokage request both of your presences in the tower Asap.”   
With a poof, the man went up in a cloud of smoke. The two friends share a worried look before bouncing off toward the Hokage’s tower.  
Kakashi was too old for this shit. Or at least that is what he felt like from time to time. The day's horizon broke across the village in a dull grey lighting that eventually gave way to dark, looming clouds. As the storms build, the Hokage could feel the heat rise with it. He will be thankful when summer finally ends, and the colder weather would come. The man sighs as he swivels in his big comfy chair. His hand itched to pull out his favorite Ich Icha romance novel but resisted because today was going to be a busy day for him and his fellow Ninja. On cue, his new secretary finally pops in with a shrug and a yawn.   
“Finally got the reports back.” He waves a stack of papers before sitting them on the large oak desk. Kakashi notes how his hand picks at his pocket, which held his smokes. Kakashi takes the moment of silence to go over the reports.  
Shikamaru yawns again before leaning against the window pane. His tired eyes gaze toward the hospital where his close friend lay fighting for her life. Irritation gnaws at him, and he feels his fingers run over the smooth package of his smokes.   
“According to the reports, Sakura has been poisoned by an unknown substance. Ino’s on the forefront of looking for a known cure. If any.”   
He glances toward the Hokage who sighs heavily.   
“Well until further notice we must investigate are known targets until further evidence comes across. However, I notice that some properties of the poison came from high dry areas.” Notes the Hokage as he swivels toward his ever-loyal assistance.   
The Nara man sighs slowly followed by a short yawn. “I need some sleep before travel and possibly a body bag if she hasn’t already sent someone to kill me,” Shikamaru mutters as he turns around from the window. Kakashi laughs remembering well the ill temper of the fan user. He did enjoy the dynamic of those two.  
“‘I’ll send you some company, to ensure your safety of course.” He gives the man a wink.  
Shikamaru groans and finally breaks out a cigarette. He lights it up quickly and inhales the refreshing drag of nicotine.   
“Fair enough, three hours at the gate?” he slowly exhales as Kakashi ponders the upcoming mission. “Well enough,” He agrees final, “Eyes and ears.” Nara nods solemnly before finally taking his leave.  
As the door shuts behind the spiky-haired kid, Kakashi lets out the world’s most massive yawn. Thanks to last night’s events, he would be running on little energy today. Although with Naruto soon to make an appearance, his patience would soon be exhausted as well. The man steeples fingers together and leans forward onto his desk. The great Hokage had an inkling there was more to the picture of his best medic getting poisoned, especially when so many things had been circling lately. What better way to draw out the unexpected than to twist it all up in the first place, the older man muses. Inevitably the perk would rear its ugly head when the predictable became unfamiliar. A smile breaches the Hokage’s face as he contemplates the coming fun of this mission.

 

Ino’s eye blurred for a moment before she shook them into focus again. Her eyes stung something fierce, but she refused to rub away the exhaustion as she re-read the article before her. She growls in frustration as the words blur again into fuzzy lines. She slams the book shut with a loud clap. Around her, the patients in the cafeteria jump lightly at the noise in the otherwise quite surrounding. Ino pays them all no mind as she rubs the bridge of her nose tiredly. She had spent a majority of the night and most of the morning pouring over various texts and articles of different poisons and antidotes. She searched it all in vain of finding something, or anything at this point, to help her closest friend. It infuriated her coming up short considering the new crisis she got thrust into, yet she accepted wholeheartedly, given her patient. Although admittedly she got her friend out of the preverbal woodworks, she minimized the poison to a concentrated area away from her brain. At this rate, she could extract the venom at small amounts but not before the damn thing spreading further into the body. So now she was at a standstill. She could have kept it from spreading but not from causing bodily harm to her patient. Her only option was to find a cure and quick before permanent damage had set in. Unfortunately, her hands were tied. The Poison used was an unknown herb not documented in any archive in the hidden leaf. Again, the blonde-haired medic growled in frustration as she threw her small hands up into the air. Fuck my life was on the tip of her tongue when the wafting smell of coffee coaxes her eyes open. Across from her sat a slightly bemused Yamato with a hot steaming cup of coffee.  
“If you value your life and digits, you will hand over that nectar of gods.” She threatens with glaring eyes.   
Yamato obeys and slides the coffee over to the severely sleep deprived medic. The woman whimpers slightly but graciously sips the boiling coffee. Her body slowly relaxes as she falls back into her chair.  
Slowly as if almost drugged, she reopens those bright eyes and smiles politely. “So how our patient so far doc.” Asked Yamato calmly.   
Ino yawns then proceed to take another sip of coffee. “Well, she is not dead.” She intones positively.  
The man across from her takes no amusement of her light joke but instead sighs wearily. She notes the empty bags beneath his eyes and knows he’s just as anxious about the Pinkett as she has. Slowly Ino sets the cup down and leans upon her elbows at the table. “She’s stable. For now. If I don’t find a cure or antidote in the least, there’s no telling what could happen.”   
The unanswered question remained in the air like dirty laundry.   
However, neither one wanted to explore that option just yet, besides there still much that they could always do at this point. Yamato took the news well enough and relaxed back into his chair. Slowly his arms crossed his chest as his eyes wandered off. Ino could easily see at this point in the early morning light what Sakura found so appealing in Yamato. He was long, angled, and hard all over with muscles. Even the shadow of a beard seemed to make him look more rugged than usual. To Ino’s delight, the man had let his unruly brown hair go in wild locks all over his head. Again, it just added another layer of handsomeness to the otherwise uninformed man.  
Loud shouting shakes both shinobi out of their reviver. Outside the cafeteria, a towering blonde was causing a ruckus up at the front desk. Ino sighs wearily knowing full well who the idiot could be. She shares a distressed look with Yamato before running to intercede the giant man up at the desk.   
“I don’t give a damn if visitors aren’t allowed. I need to see her right now!” bellowed Naruto at the frightened woman.   
Usually, he would be more reserved; however, the sudden news of his most cherished friend had put him on edge. Ino suddenly bounces up to the nurse’s side, her hands planted firmly on her full luscious hips. That blonde ponytail swishes like a viper as Ino stares the man down.   
“Cut it out dim wit your scaring the patients.” Naruto huffs in defense but slowly loses some of his wind as he tones it down.  
“I need to see her Ino.” His voice cracks a bit which he covers quickly with a cough.  
Ino sighs heavily before dropping her hands. “Alright, you dope, right this way.”  
He nods gratefully and follows the blonde to Sakura’s room. Behind them, Yamato sighs with a heavy heart as he scratches his head. He supposes he should head home now. However, the very idea of leaving her like that made his chest ache something fierce. He figured it was mostly guilt since it was his fellow team members, who attacked them last night. Yamato leans into his hands at the table as his mind swirls around previous night events.  
She was as soft as he could ever have imagined. She was also so responsive and just… He sighs as he readjusts his legs beneath the table. That damned shinobi.. if it had not been for the sudden lighting, he would never have believed it had been them that had attacked. Strange enough the bodies combusted before they could ever extract information from them. After Sakura went into surgery, he had a lengthy debriefing with Hokage regarding the events of that evening. It seemed to Yamato that she had been the intended target. Though he could not fathom why those two would have any quarrels with the younger Kunoichi; Yamato continues to gnaw his mind of the events as the days goes on.   
Above on the room put aside for Sakura, her two best friends pet her hair lightly with affection. She was currently tied up with multiple tubes to ensure her quality of life until further notice, although it pained her guest to see her so. Naruto wipes a small tear from the corner of his eyes.  
“We’ll find who did this to you Sakura, I promise. “He declares.   
From the door, a soft knock echoes. The two jolt their heads up as Sasuke comes in quietly. Naruto smiles sadly at his teammate while Ino narrows her eyes at the approaching man. He steps next to Naruto and grimaces at sight before. Ino could help but note him rubbing his chest as it ached fiercely. Instantly she wanted to punch him but resisted. Instead, she gave them a rundown of her condition.   
“She stable but barely. The poison is of an unknown substance, and I’ve to come across anything in the archives related to it.” She states.   
Naruto eyes narrow down as he takes in the sad sight of his friend.  
“what happens if we don’t find an antidote.” He whispers into the ample space.  
Ino swallows thickly but its Sasuke who answers for her, “She’ll die.”   
Naruto eyes jerked toward the darker orbs. Both shake their head in unison as if something became decided at that moment.   
“What the hell is going on?” accuses Ino as she points a long finger at the two boys.   
They both smile lopsidedly disarming her a bit.  
“We are going to find her a cure.” Declares Naruto proudly.   
“Then I’m in!” insist Ino with a wicked smile. 

Hours later the trio meets up at the front gate where a ragged Shikamaru awaits them. Upon seeing a perky Ino bouncing next to Naruto, he can’t help but groan. “Aren’t you useful else, ware.” He gripes as Ino comes to a halt next to the boys.   
Ino huffs, causing her bangs to blow frivolously. “Don’t be an ass Shika. Sakura is important to me and this village. Besides, I have the medical knowledge to apply what we learn in The Hidden Sand.”   
Naruto pats the slightly annoyed man on the back. “Come, were all here for the right reasons, Shikamaru. Let’s get going guys!” Naruto shouts with a fist pump to the air.   
The Nara man groans as Ino laughs at the overzealous man. Meanwhile, Sasuke only sighs, knowing full well this was going to be a long trip.


	13. Wander Lust

The gang traveled day and night towards the village hidden in the sand. Hope hung on the shinobi's collective shoulders like a pet bird. Loud and proud with a little reserve for the long journey before them.  
Meanwhile, across the village in a lonely, compound, Karen finds herself pacing back and forth. Her eyes linger outside where another storm builds on the horizon. She sighs, she was sure nothing could trace back to her. Her hands twist behind her back as the thought consumes her. She was careful about the extract, even made sure to erase any evidence physical or otherwise. Worry still gnawed away at her.  
On top of everything else, her love was being more rebellious than usual. She bites her thumb as anger begins to rise in her chest. This pinked hair vixen had more sway over her love than she had initially anticipated. Thus, she was forced to reinforce her jutsu with several brews. She feared if he were gone too long, all her hard work would become undone. She lets go of her thumb as it begins to throb. If only she could once and for all get rid of that woman, then it would be smooth sailing for her and her love. She hears a pop noise and grows still as two ninjas appear from thin air before her. They kneel and bow their collective heads.   
“Report status.” She rubs her bulging belly.  
“We’ve all but wormed our way into the critical points. All that’s left is the Hokage’s tower.” Informed ninja one.   
Karen grounds her teeth. “Very well, leave it to me.”  
They nod their heads with respect then poof out in a cloud of smoke. Karen rubs the bridge of her nose while sighing. As always, things end with her having to clean up and finish. A small smile slowly spreads across her face. Lucky for her, she had a friend to see today. 

Thunder rolls across the darkening clouds. Everyone could smell the rising scent of rain and rushed home before being caught up in its wrath. Yamato, however, takes a slight amusement of it all as he perches himself on the window pane next to Sakura’s bedside. It had been about three days since the young team of shinobis left for the sand. To Yamato’s great displeasure, there hasn’t been word yet of a cure or remedy.  
Meanwhile, he had stayed by Sakura’s side, watching her slowly waste away as the poison worked its way through her system. His fisted tighten in his lap as the feeling of uselessness washed over him. He sighs heavily before walking over to her side. Slowly he wipes her pale pink strands away from her face. It truly sickened him to see her in such a state. Giant hookups were attached to her to help her breath and so forth till further things could be done to assist her. Above her head, the machine lets out a steady beep to let him know her heart was still holding on.  
He knew she was a fighter, until the very end, she would go kicking and screaming. Hell, he had seen as much in the many missions they had together. Except for this time, she made no noise, not even a whimper. His chest grows heavy as eyes roam her thin, frail body. She wouldn’t be here in this state if it hadn’t been for me, he thought viciously. He rubs his face as exhaustion seeps its way into his shoulders. Soft knock echoes threw out the room. Surprised, Yamato jerks around only to have his mouth pop open in an O shape. A huffing Karen fills the softly lite doorway before him. “It’s outrageously hot out there.” She says between breaths. She leans against the door while holding her stomach. Yamato finally snaps out of his shocks, “Here have a seat.” He urges the huffing woman to the nearest chair. She plops down with a huge sigh.   
“Thank you.” She says with a smile.   
Yamato nods before retreats to the window pane. His arms cross over his chest as he watches the woman catch her breath.  
“What brings you by.” He asked.   
The woman cuts her eyes to the tall man but lets the weird tone go.   
“Well, although I don’t care for this doctor, I do respect my love’s wishes.” She states.   
Yamato quirks an eyebrow at her. The last time he saw this woman, she had been demanding Sakura’s head for assaulting Sasuke. She rolls her eyes at his suspicious gaze.   
“I should be asking what YOU are doing in here.” She shot back at him.   
“We’re close friends.”   
“mmm hmmm.”   
Her eyes roam him up and down as if she could see Sakura’s naked imprint on him. Yamato resists the urge to roll his eyes. This woman was somewhat infuriating if not annoying.  
“What brings you here again.” He clips out.   
She gives a smug smile while rubbing her budding stomach.  
“My love sent word; he wanted me to keep tags on his dear friend. Although given her state, I don’t think much has improved.” She looks over to him with a curious face.   
He sighs heavily and looks out of the window. “Nothing has changed.” He informs reluctantly.  
Another soft knock comes from the door. Both Ninja snap to attention as a pair of moon lite eyes peek from behind the door. Hinta shyly steps out from the door and awkwardly brushes a strand of hair behind her ear.   
She clears her throat, “I – uh brought fresh flowers from Ino’s shop.”   
Yamato smiles warmly at the bashful Kunoichi and relieves her of the flowers. Karen however, merely rolls her eyes at the wooden walking stick. She couldn’t believe THIS kunoichi captured the heart of the leaf’s Jinchunki. Karen scoffs lightly to herself. The silent attitude did not go unnoticed by Yamato as he replaced the flowers at Sakura’s bedside. He looks toward Hinta, who slowly approaches the patient's side. Slowly she strokes a few stray strands from Sakura’s pale, sickly face. Slowly Yamato returns to his perch on the window.   
“Any news?” Ask Hinta to a curiously quite room. Karen does not attempt to answer as she yawns lazily. Yamato grits his teeth but sighs heavily.  
“Nothing new. Still waiting for word from Naruto and the others.”   
A ruckus from outside the partly open-door cause everyone to snap to attention as something crashes loudly followed by a loud thwack noise. A moment of silence passes before the door is busted wide open by none other than Lee.   
Hands asserted upon boney hips he big cheeses for all, “hello my fellow youthful rivals. How does our pink haired maiden fair today!?”   
Hinta giggles into her hand while Karen shakes her head in disbelief at the fool before her. Yamato drags a hand down his face wondering exactly why he decided to stay as long as he had. Meanwhile, Lee looks from one front to the next, hoping for some good news. His jolly stance is broke due to a small hand smacking him in the back of the head.   
“keep it down where in a hospital, Lee.” Growls Ten Ten as she enters the crowded room.   
Lee pouts respectively before joining Hinata at the bedside. The two chats idly as Ten Ten shrugs next to Yamato. The man had taken a slight interest in the slight rain that had begun outside.   
“So, who’s the redhead” She whispers as Lee shouts his undying love for Sakura.   
Yamato cuts his eyes sharply to Lee as he feels a spike of jealousy in his stomach.   
“Ask Sasuke.” Came Yamato’s quick reply, focusing back toward the miserable wet scene outside the window.  
Karen, however, couldn’t help but notice Yamato’s little spark of feelings and grinned mischievously. She clears her throat loudly to grab Lee’s attention. The blubbering fool takes a pause mid-word vomit to notice the plumb redhead in the chair finally.   
“I’m sorry’” Lee intones politely, “Who are you?” the Kunoichi pay no attention to their conversation but keep an ear open for her response.  
Karen shifts in her chair as she straightens her spine rightly. She looks straight up to the green beast of Kona and says firmly, “I’m Karin. Sasuke’s Lover.” Everyone but Lee notices her hand rubbing her round belly.   
Lee smiles, “Good to know.”  
Karen laughs softly,” I’m also a medic.”  
Lee’ eye light up like Christmas lights in July. “I was going to tell you there might be a way for you to save Sakura.” Karen grins mischievously.  
Everyone’s head snaps to her with a stern look.  
To everyone, she winks lightly before saying, “It said if a dashing young man kisses a sleeping maiden, she’ll immediately waken for her eternal slumber.”  
“Than it's decided!” shouted Lee with a fist pump. “I will try this mysterious method and save the fair Sakura-Chan!”   
“Lee, wait!” Ten Ten calls as she reaches for him.  
Karen burst out laughing as Lee bends down and plants a wet one right on Sakura’s small lips. From the window, Yamato rises as anger boils in his chest hotly. Before he knew it, he was jerking Lee back by the collar from the sleeping Sakura. Lee lets out a startled yelp followed by a shout of pain as Ten Ten knocks him the head. The big green idiot retreats to the other side of the room while rubbing his sore head.  
“Was that necessary Ten Ten.” He pouted with large puppy eyes.   
The weapons mistress huffs as she crosses her arms over her chest. “You don’t kiss a girl without her consent, doofus.” She seethes.  
“Hai!” came Hinata’s affirmation.  
“It was worth a shot.” Came Karen’s breathy defense. The fellow Kunoichi’s rolled their eyes at the obnoxious redhead.  
Silently Yamato curses himself for his outburst. He narrows his eyes at the suspicious redhead who merely smiles at him with evil eyes. An uneasy feeling begins to stir in his chest.   
“All right, all right! “Shouts a loud booming voice — everyone tenses for a moment before relaxing again as Lady Shino enters the full room.  
“You all are making too much noise. You do realize there are other sick patients in this hall.”   
They all mumble their apologies except for Karen who merely huffs.   
She gets up slowly from her chair. “That’s rich, coming for the loudest one in the room,” Karen states as she stands.   
Lady Shino narrows her eyes at the redhead, “Shouldn’t you be resting at home.” She scolded.   
Karen rolled her eyes. “Yes, but I came to pay my respect to The Lady, who saved my baby.”  
She pats her stomach lightly before finally leaving the crowded hospital room.   
Everyone shares a collective ‘what the hell’ look except for Lady Shino and Yamato who shared a similar distaste for the annoying redhead.   
“Wait a minute.” Ten Ten came to Hinata’s side with a confused look on her face.   
“Is THAT the reason for Sasuke’s shiner at the party?” Hinta shrugs her shoulder as Lee stands at attention. “If it was he deserves more than just a shiner” His otherwise bright face turns dark as he slowly cracks his knuckles.   
To Yamato’s amusement, he agreed to the fullest.  
Lady Shino sighs, “Guys as much as I’m sure Sakura appreciates your company, I’m afraid visiting hours are almost up.”   
The young trio of shinobi said their farewells to their dear friend and decided to head out. Yamato lingers a bit longer as he watches Lady Shino go through her checkup.   
“have you alerted Lady Tusnad yet.” He asks.   
Shino never flinches as she goes about her task methodically.  
“No.” came her steady reply.  
Yamato huffs as his arms crossed about his chest. She glances sharply up toward him.   
“If she were here, she would be doing the very thing we are doing now. Have faith in Ino. She’ll pull through.”   
Yamato nods tightly and slowly releases his arms. The tension fades from his shoulder as exhaustion starts to creep up on him. He been his for a majority of the day and yet to head home. Although the very idea of going home brings him dread, as the past events replay in his mind like a bad movie, instead he chooses to avoid his house as much as possible. Lady Shino wraps up her examine notes nothing has changed. She tucks her board beneath her arm and places a small hand on Yamato’s broad shoulders.   
“Go home and get some rest.” She encourages.  
He sighs heavily and nods in agreement. Together they exit the sad room. However, rest was far from Yamato’s mind. Instead, he couldn’t get Karen’s presences out of his mind. Nor her loud declaration of her and Sasuke’s illegitimate child. On top of that, his mind kept going back to his last night with Sakura and their attackers.   
For all his musings, the older shinobi found himself heading toward the one place he knew would put his mind to rest.

Two things Kakashi enjoyed most in the world. One, his beloved romance novels that fueled his burning lust like gas to a raging fire. The second thing he loved most if not more was the soft lips of Iruka Sensei. He angles the man into a corner of his house with a wide grin spreading across his face. The scar across the younger man’s nose bloom scarlet as he scuttles back, his eyes downcast.   
“Lord Hokage this is an ext.-r-r-Emily inapposite-t-te tim-m-me.” He stutters out.  
Kakashi only chuckles at the flustered man. Slowly Kakashi peels layer after layer of clothing off until Iruka is pinned to the wall by the cage of his arms. In nothing but low hanging shorts, Kakashi watches the furious blushing of Iruka as he leans closer and closer to his large warm lips. Iruka catches his breath the moment their lips tenderly meet. Kakashi nearly growls as the younger man began to deepen their light kiss. Strong arms snaked around his neck, pulling him closer.   
Behind him, the door creaks open loudly. Iruka jerks away while Kakashi groans inwardly. Whoever it was, was going to have hell to pay, he determined. Meanwhile, Iruka dodges beneath his arms and darts off toward the back of the house. Flexing his fist hands repeatedly, The Hokage turns around to see his intruder. To his slight amusement, it was none other than captain Yamato.   
He points an accusing finger at the man,” For your sake, you better hope he hasn’t left yet.”  
Yamato chuckles at the furious man. “Yeah well, payback is a bitch.”   
Kakashi drops his hand as a chuckle escapes his lips. “Fair enough, you got twenty minutes. Hit me.”   
Slowly Kakashi makes his way to the kitchen to prepare some tea. Yamato sighs wearily before taking a seat at the small table.   
“She’s getting worse Kakashi.”  
The Hokage pause briefly to stare blankly at his lime green teapot. Slowly he pours the water into the container before heating it on the stove. He composes himself before turning to face the ragged looking Yamato. This whole event was eating the usual cool man up. For Kakashi, it was quite unnerving and somewhat unexpected.  
“They’ll find a cure I’m sure of it.” He said confidently. Though the truth is told, the longer they were away looking for a cure, the more worry began to set into his shoulders, although he would never admit it out loud.  
Yamato rubs his face tiredly.   
“I can’t lose her.” He says in a low voice.   
Kakashi tilts his head as he studies the man. The man before him had refused to leave the Pinkett’s side since the incident, seeing him here now meant she got put into intensive care till further notice. Of course, the Hokage knew the two had been getting closer as of late, but at this point, it seemed the attraction was more than physical. However, all this worrying seemed to be tearing the man up in all the wrong ways.  
The teapot whistle loudly announcing it is ready. Kakashi removes the canister from the heat and pours them each a cup. Yamato takes the cup graciously and sips it slowly. Kakashi sits across from him with a sigh.  
“I understand your turmoil Yamato. However, worrying like this won’t do no good for her as of right now.”   
He slowly states to the man. Yamato nods but never leaves his sights from the depths of his tea in his hands.   
“If you want to be productive, how about checking on Karin for me.”   
At that, the man’s eyes snap up to Kakashi. A flicker of suspicion flickered in the man’s eyes as he looks up toward Kakashi.   
“Are you saying,” Yamato begins.   
Kakashi holds up a hand to cut him short.   
“I’m saying I promised a certain raven-haired boy I would keep an eye on his baby momma. Anything outside that is pure speculations.”   
Slowly he sips his tea as new-found energy takes over Yamato.   
“Sure, then why not.” Came his eager reply.  
Kakashi smiles as the man gets up to go.   
Before he reaches the door, Kakashi calls out, “Do you love her as much as he did?”   
Yamato freezes, his back is rigid to the Hokage. Kakashi was like a dog with a bone; sometimes; this was no exception.   
“Are you sure this infatuation is nothing more than getting your dick wet.”   
Furious, the man turns around with blazing eyes and a clenched fist. Kakashi grins widely at the man’s response.   
“If you love her, make sure you keep fighting for her,” Kakashi warns anomalously.   
Yamato eyes the man curiously before finally letting out a long sigh.   
“Your ‘friend’ has locked himself in the bathroom by the way. Good Night!” he calls over his shoulder as he exits the large house.   
Kakashi silently curses the man yet resigns himself to coaxing Iruka out of the bathroom.


	14. Redbone

Miles away in a dusty old library, our ever diligent Ino is found snoozing on top of some old textbook. The puppet master smiles bemused at the unseemly sight of the hot Kunoichi. Granted he seen some beautiful pieces of work from the leaf yet he couldn’t remember this beautiful work of art. The woman mumbles something in her sleep before readjusting her head in the crook of her arm. It was almost a shame he had to wake her up…almost. He grabs the most massive tome nearby and slams it loudly onto the countertop.   
To his bemusement, the Kunoichi jerks up startled screaming, “Don’t feed the Venus Flytrap!”  
Ino blinks around owlishly before her eyes fall on the hysterical Kankuro. Her eyes are narrowed to slits as she pulls out her kunai. He throws his hands up in surrender as he gains control of his laughter.  
“Easy there killer, I just came to get you for breakfast.”  
Ino looks around at the piles of a book stacked around her. What little hope she had when they first came here had quickly diminished as she poured herself over all the medical archives. So far, she hadn’t struck gold anywhere. She sighs as sadness settles in her shoulder, she rubs her sore face.   
“No thanks,” She says while replacing her Kunai. “I still have quite a bit to go over.”   
Resolved in her mission, the Kunoichi goes to grab for another tome only to have it snatched away by a pale hand. She glares up at the painted ninja as if he was a leper who had touched her inappropriately.  
“Your tapped blondie.” He states a matter of fact.  
“Let’s get some chow to refuel; then you can go back to your needle in a haystack.” He perks an eyebrow at her.   
Ino crosses her arm, fully intending to go against this infuriating man’s wishes. However, her stomach growls like Chojji’s mid-afternoon snack time. Ino jerks her chin away as Kakuro’s eyes laugh knowingly. “Don’t you have someone else to annoy the piss out of.” She hissed.  
The man shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly. “Not really, the Nara guys locked up with Temari while your guy pals are preoccupied with the Kazekage.”   
Ino’s heart tugged at the information regarding Shikamaru. She grits her teeth as she grinds her palms into her knees. After all, now was not the time to let her emotions overcome her. Again, her stomach rumbled, reminding her it had been a long while since she last ate. Finally, she sighs in defeat.   
“Fine let’s go eat,” she admits.   
She holds an accusing finger up at the man, “But so help me god, you startle me again. I’ll cauterize your junk.”   
Kankuro smile stretches from ear to ear.   
“Hey, it sounds like a regular Friday night for me.” He winks before sauntering off toward the exit.   
Ino rolls her eyes but follows the outrageous man but can’t help the small smile popping up on her face.

The bustling city of the hidden sand was quite a change of pace from her lazy neighborhood at home. Everyone here seemed to have as much energy as the sun blazes above. Sweat coiled around Ino’s neck and slowly dipped down. She noted to find a shower soon before returning to her studies. After a while, Kankuro finally picks a place to chow down. To Ino’s relief, it wasn’t some international specialty place but rather a regular Pho shop. They put in quick order with Ino ordering a bit extra just in case. Silence soon descends upon the two as each stare off in two different directions. Ino loses her self-amongst all the new information she recently absorbed. Although all that information and she still hadn’t found anything close to the compounds they found in Sakura. Ino lets out a heavy sigh.   
“Keep frowning like that, and you’ll get wrinkles.” The puppet master teased.   
Ino snaps out of a retort hot on her tongue. Except at that moment her eyes catch sight of a happy couple in the street. Although to Ino’s distressed heart, it was more of a gruesome horror show on display to the world. In reality, it was a laughing Shikamaru hugging a smiling Temari in his arms. Together the two were shopping at the local market. Suddenly Ino lost any pretense of being hungry.  
“Earth to Ino!” call Kankuro as he waves a hand before the girls’ face.   
She finally snaps out of it then proceeds to slap away his hand.  
“I’m not feeling well. I think I’m going to head back to my room for a bit. Sorry.” She quickly gathers her items and flees in a rush.  
In her dust, a confused Kankuro stares after the wild woman. He huffs before casting his eyes out toward the window. To his amusement, he sees his sister with that ridiculous Nara man. Just like that, it clicks to him, and he can’t help but grin like the devil he is.

Across the dusty village, far up in the sand dome that was the Kazekage’s tower, Sasuke rubs his ever-throbbing temple. The damned headache had followed him to the sand. However, it didn’t help that Naruto was extra loud as Shikamaru was extra whiny today. Their long trip was hot and sweaty at the least yet once they had arrived, they had immediately jumped into the workload. Ino quickly hit the books with Shikamaru accompanying while he and Naruto chased down leads in surrounding villages. However, three days later, and they were all still empty-handed. Sasuke groans as he watches Naruto pace his footprints into the carpet. Gaara finally comes through the big mahogany doors, a purpose set in his firm, broad shoulders. Followed close behind him was his meager assistant, Ayame. Naruto stands at attention as he follows the Kazekage movement nearly religiously. Gaara plops down in his big comfy looking chair and throws a small file across his desk toward the restless shinobis. Naruto picks it up hastily like a dog with a bone and reads over it speedily. Sasuke rolls his eyes knowing full well this idiot didn’t understand at least half of it.   
As expected, Naruto hands the file off to Sasuke quickly before shouting his enthusiasm, “So we’re off to the next village. No problem!”   
Sasuke can’t help but glance toward the infamous Kazekage who is steadily rubbing the bridge of his nose. Sasuke chuckles as he reviews the slender file. According to the information, a secluded village south of the city might carry a plant who share similar properties to the ingredients found in the poison in Sakura.  
“This is our last village. Grandpa Ebizo believes this is the one we’ve been searching for.” Informs Gaara as he swivels toward his large bay windows.   
Ayame nods in agreement as Naruto begins to boast of their upcoming mission.   
“It says here, “commented Sasuke wearily, “The village hasn’t reported any status report since about a year ago.”   
“Yes, sir.” Came Ayame’s crisp reply. “It’s believed the people of that village have perished by some unknown force.” She informs.  
Naruto pauses before looking toward Gaara.   
“Care to elaborate.” He calls toward the yawning man. Gaara swivels toward his fellow Shinobi with a stern look plastered carefully across his harsh features.  
“It’s a ghost town, Naruto. Its believed a demon wiped out the settlement, thus explaining the quite updates regarding the village.”   
“Surely you’ve sent Anbu out to check,” Sasuke suggests as he slips the folder onto Gaara’s desk.   
He couldn’t help but note the shared look between the Kazekage and his assistance Ayame.   
“ We have.” He finally says after a pause. “However, No one has been able to find the town since they have gone silent.”   
Naruto scratches his head in confusion. “That doesn’t make no sense.” He states bluntly.   
Gaara laughs, humorlessly, “You don’t say. However, I do have the last coordinates to the date of the location of the said village.”   
Gaara snaps his finger, thus causing a masked Shinobi to appear. “Fox will give you sensitive information. Whatever supply you need for the mission let him know, and he’ll be of assistance.”   
Naruto and Sasuke nodded their heads respectively and began planning out an outline of their future mission.

Meanwhile, Shikamaru took great pleasure in strolling down the bright roads of Suna with Temari on his arm. The fantastic wind user was as beautiful now as she had been when they first meet. Tall, glowing, loud, and blonde like a sunflower. Shikamaru couldn’t help but be entirely enamored by the beautiful vixen.   
“Did I mention I love you.” He murmurs into her ear as they cross the busy highway.   
Temari giggles and lightly swats at him.   
“This sun makes you say the silliest of things Shika.” She murmurs as they enter the cool recess of a quiet restaurant.  
Shikamaru smirks as he leads her to a far booth against the wall.   
“troublesome woman. Can’t take a compliment for anything. “He remarks with a teasing tone.   
Temari rolls her eyes as she watches the powerful shadow user fold himself into the seat across from her.  
“So, have you guys found anything useful yet?” She asks as she leans on elbows above the table. Shikamaru sighs heavily as his head tilts back. She notes his hand itch his shirt pocket out of habit.   
“Nah. Nothing has changed except for our collective enthusiasm.” He notes offhandedly.   
Temari pops a questioning brow at him. The lazy fool brings his head up as the waitress takes their order. As she leaves, he finally cracks. “So far all our leads have been wild goose chases.” He notes with despair peppering his husky voice.   
Temari grasps his large warm hands in hers and smiles as brightly as she can.  
“I’m sure something will come up.” She says with a smile.  
Shikamaru heart skips a beat as her bright face fills his chest with warmth. He squeezes her hand right back and manages to muster up a smile.   
“I’m sure we will.” He replies. “Besides, Ino hasn’t rested since we got here. She’s been researching every article and book covering all Suna poisons and medication. Not to mention dusting up on you guys herbology.”   
Temari sighs and sits back but doesn’t let go of her lover’s hand.  
“She’s dedicated, that’s for sure” Temari adds. “If all else fells, Ino is bound to find a way to extend Sakura’s life if nothing else.”  
Shikamaru sighs as his eyes lazily scan the surrounding area.  
“Perhaps.” He mumbles as his eyes fall on an odd pair in the distant booth.   
Both citizens came off as a very straight rod in their posture and had mirrored looks of distress on their collective faces. Shikamaru’s shoulder twitches as an uneasy feeling settles upon.   
“Shika?” came Temari’s worried voice. He snaps back to his love with a peaked face.  
“I’m sorry, what was that?” he asks.  
“I said, have you heard from Ino today?”   
Shikamaru scratches his head as he tries to remember precisely where Ino said she would be.  
“If I’m not mistaken, she is still in the library.”   
Temari nods silently Before taking a sip of her cold water.   
“Perhaps we should bring her some lunch later?” Ask Temari worriedly.   
Shikamaru smiles, fondly at the blonde. Being the elder sister of two rambunctious brothers had left Temari with a sense of a motherly type of person. Shikamaru couldn’t decide he found that sexy or incredibly cute.   
Either way, he squeezes her hand again before saying, “Nah not this time. I sent Kankuro to check up on her.”   
Temari rolls her eyes with exaggeration.   
“Dear Jesus, she probably has already throttled the poor idiot.”   
Shikamaru laughs wholeheartedly. “Maybe so.”   
The waitress appears with their food, and the two enjoy the rest of their afternoon in peace.

Ino, however, couldn’t shake her unwanted guest if she tried. It went without saying that she had tried to shake the fool earlier when they had gone to eat. Although one look at the happy couple, Shikamaru and Temari, had made Ino lose any interest in food. Thus, she found herself back in the stacks surrounded by ancient tomes and yellowing pages. Secretly she wished the Liberian would invest in some fragrances, to lighten up the dusty, moldy smelling place. Behind her, her unwanted companion sighs out loud as he takes another big crunching bite of his fried chicken.   
“I’m telling you, you're missing out,” Kankuro calls around his bite of food.   
Ino grinds her teeth but focuses her energy on the old book before her. She had come across many herbal books in the Local Suna library. Though so far, she has come short on a remedy. However, she did know, now how to extract some of the more common poison fonds in this area. However, what interests her more where the weird documented experiments performed around the third Kazekage’s reign. According to most documents, the trial period of the potential poison became shut down after it had somehow affected an entire village in less than 24 hours.  
“Seriously blondie you’ve been at this for hours.” He jests lightly.  
Ino growls with irritation as she slams her book shut.   
“Please, feel free to leave.” She growls while glaring at the amused fool.   
“But then I wouldn’t get the privilege to see your beautiful face.”   
Ino rolls her eyes as she gets up from her seat. Pop. Pop. Pop. One after another, her joint pops as she stretches from the long hours at her table. Unbeknown to the Kunoichi, her fellow Shinobi found it hard to swallow his food as he watches her muscled body pull tight as she stretches. Lucky for him, she doesn’t notice the food falling out of his mouth as she wanders over to another bookshelf. Pulling himself together, Kankuro quickly finishes his meal and joins the cute Kunoichi in the towering stacks.   
Ino runs a finger across the dusty books as she quietly looks for a book in relations to her research. Her eyes scan endless titles before falling on a perspective one. She pulls the text from the shelf and gasp in surprise as Kankuro face fills its empty spot.   
“Did anyone ever tell you. You have the most beautiful eyes?”  
Ino rolls her eyes before slamming the book back in its place. She hears an ouch cry and smiles impishly to herself. She wanders further back into the library where the dust became thicker and thicker.  
“You're pretty brutish for such a cute girl.” Pouts Kankuro as he trails along behind her.   
Ino sighs wearily. She did not have the energy for this. “Don’t you have something better to do than to bother me with empty compliments.” She calls back as she pauses before another towering shelf.  
She notes a book on the top shelf named ‘Suna: The History of its Villages.’. Ino tilts her head at an angle before attempting to reach up for it.  
Kankuro leans up against the different stack and takes a moment to admire the beautiful yet ferocious creature before him. Usually, the girls would melt at his words, yet this vixen had yet to crack a smile in his presences. Either she was taken or playing hard to get. Although as he watches her tight little uniform ride up her well-toned body, he couldn’t help but think she was just a significant tease who like to sass people. Plus, he took great joy in watching her struggle to grab that far away from a book.  
Ino growls in frustration as she tips toes up to grab the book. The tip of her fingers brushes the edges of the tome but not firm enough to pull it down. Her arms fall uselessly to her side. She couldn’t reach it for the life of her. She refused to give the cocky asshole behind her the satisfaction of asking for his help. However, to her surprise, she wouldn’t have to. From behind her Kankuro steps up and reaches up above her. As his hand stretches toward the book, Ino could feel his muscles ripple on her back as he reached above her. The smell of cloves and spice radiated off him in commanding waves making Ino slightly dizzy from the proximity. His large hand grasps her book and firmly pulls it down to her. She snatches the book from his hand and attempts to make a hasty retreat. However, she only succeeded in awkwardly facing Kankuro as he tries to pull away from her.   
There, for a split moment, she was a breath away from his parted lips. Ino’s eyes immediately went straight to his mouth as his tongue lashed out to lick his dry lips. In the back of Ino’s mind, she couldn’t help but wonder how he would taste. The very scandalous idea makes her blush and jerk away and into the bookcase. There’s a loud creak followed by the rush-heavy objects falling.  
“Watch out!” calls Kankuro as he throws himself over Ino.   
She feels his large body engulf her as the books fell on them. A moment later, she feels his body shake off the books and rises with her above the giant mess.  
“Dear Jesus,” Ino exclaims as she looks at the mess around them.   
Kankuro chuckle was light as he takes in her awed expression.   
“So, about that chicken,” he mentions with amusement. Ino finally cracks a smile at the obnoxious man and allows him to help her from out of the mess.   
From the doorway, her fellow Shinobi burst robustly.  
“Yo Ino!” yells Naruto, “we got another destination!”  
Ino and Kankuro round the last bookcase however as Ino goes to call out to her fellow teammates, he suddenly jerks her back into his chest. She looks up, protests hot on her lips, which becomes silenced as he suddenly kisses her roughly. Surprised, she doesn’t resist as he bites her lips in a moment of passion. She gasps as he lets her go and saunters out toward the group of guys.  
“Yo, we’ve almost finished up in here.” He informs the leaf ninja.   
Ino However takes a second to recover her composure before finally popping out to meet the others as well.   
“Any good leads on this one?” she ask as she takes her seat at her table.   
Naruto plops down in the chair across from her as Shika leans against the bookcase next to Kankuro. Sasuke stands behind Naruto and fills her in.  
“We have a potential lead in a ghost town south of here.”  
“It’s said to be home of a plant found in the poison.” Adds Naruto.  
“So, how do you guys want to handle this.” adds in Shikamaru.  
“Well the three of us can go if Ino has any luck here.” Suggest Naruto. Ino’s brow twitches in annoyance, but she lets it slide.  
“What town did you say it was?” Ino sighs as she rubs her temple.   
“I think Gaara said, Marigold, “replies Sasuke.   
Ino head tilts to the side as she thinks of where she’s heard that name. Marigold. Marigold. Her hand taps relentlessly on the table as she thinks. Around her, the guys begin to go over possible tactics and such for the next mission. However, Kankuro watches the leaf vixen as she chews her lip thoughtfully. He almost laughs when her small mouth pops into a full O.  
“Eureka!” laughs Kankuro as Ino digs through her pile of books.   
The others look to him confused but quickly turn their attention to Ino who shouts, “Found it!”   
She flips through the book and finally comes across the weird reports of the village suddenly poison.   
“That settles it, “she declares, “I’m coming with you guys!"   
She quickly gives them the rundown of her current findings. They all agree with her surmise and decide to meet at the gates within the hour. As everyone files out the library, Ino resigns herself to cleaning up her mess. Kankuro quietly chooses to join. As they quietly pick up the books, Ino couldn’t help but glance toward the puppet master periodically. In the dim lights of the library, she couldn’t but note his attractive firm features. He’s drastically different than Shika with the purple war paint and cocky attitude, she notes to herself. Her mind briefly flashes to their sudden kiss. Her cheeks warmly suddenly and quickly look away from the man as he gives her a charming smile. They put the last of the books away in awkward silence.   
“Well, I guess I better get going then.”   
Ino sighs as exhaustion begins to seep into her shoulders. She rubs it absentmindedly as she attempts to walk around the puppet master. The man steps into her path, causing those bright blues to look up at him finally.   
He softly rubs a thumb across her pale cheek. “be careful out there.”   
Took back by his sudden action, our fair Ino was at lost for words. He smiles like the devil he is and quickly gives her soft peck on her lips.   
“I’ll catch you later, beautiful.”  
He winks before walks out the dammed library. Ino could only touch her lips in awe at the nerve of that cocky bastard. She laughs silently to herself and continues with her preparations.  
An hour later, the team meets up at the gate, ready for the next journey. “Alright, gang off we go!” shouts Naruto. Everyone gives a halfhearted yeah before following the fool out into the hot desert.


	15. La Llorona

For Sakura, the last thing she remembers is the bustling activity of various Anbu in her apartment. Meanwhile, she had to endure the scrutiny of an amused Kakashi as he studies her and Yamato in the kitchen. To Sakura’s slight embarrassment, Yamato was still shirtless. Though the longer she stared the man, the more her lust begin to pool again. She sighs, her thoughts heavy, as she decides to focus on the ceiling above her.   
Today was the epitome of bad timing for Sakura it seemed. It seems the gods were determined to fuck her shit up. A small smile appears on her face before she noticed the specs swirling on the ceiling. Her shoulders drop as she cocks her head to the side. Weird, she thought to herself. She looks back to Yamato who was directing an Anbu to a scorch mark in her living room.   
“Your drooling Sakura.” Whispers Kakashi in her ear. Sakura rolls her eyes before smacking Kakashi lightly.   
“Shut up, old man.” She grumbles before moving across the kitchen to her cabinets.   
Kakashi pouts but quickly sobers up as Sakura suddenly stumbles toward the counter across from him. Kakashi steps forward to catch her but is beat to the punch by a swift Yamato.  
Sakura remembers the feel of Yamato’s hands on her hips as he steadies her balance. She turns around quickly as blush descends upon her pale face.  
“th-thank you.” She mumbles, unable to meet his gaze. She hears a rumble in his large toned chest before suddenly being lifted. Her eyes fly to his amused face as her hands immediately grasp his hand at her waist.  
“Easy killer.” He says bemusedly.   
He places her on the counter and slowly begins to check her over.  
“I’m fine,” Sakura whines as she swats his worried hands away.   
The large man folds his arms at his chest before pegging her with a concerned look.   
From her archway, Shikamaru calls forth, “So what’s the story this time.”   
Yamato tenses at Shika’s loud voice but quickly moves next to Sakura’s side. She couldn’t help but huff at the man before smiling toward Shikamaru.   
“A pair of assholes invaded my house and attacked my guest and me.” She waves a small hand toward Yamato.  
Shikamaru’s eyes do a double take on the older shinobi as he notes the man’s bare chest. That’s when it dawned on Sakura on how this looked between his bare chest her scant clothing. She could only imagine the rumors that would pop up after this.   
Sakura’s face blooms red as Shika asked Yamato, “Why are you shirtless?”  
Yamato opened his mouth for a quick retort but quickly snapped his jaw shut as he glances at an embarrassed Sakura. He flexes his jaw before leaving to find his shirt.  
Sakura sighs lightly as she secretly watches Yamato leave the crowded area. Ironically, she notes sweat is starting to build across her brow. Idly she wonders if it was just hot in here or was it just her?   
Shika’s voice snaps her out of it as he asks, “Did you know the attackers?”   
Sakura thought about it for a moment. After those bastards attacked, she remembered the bodies suddenly combusting before they could identify them. She tells him as much, “No. But we did subdue them except...” She trails off as her eyes look up toward the Hokage.  
Knowing her hesitant, he picks up where she left off. However, Sakura is unable to follow as the world began to twirl wildly around her. She closes her eyes tightly, then reopened them with a sigh as the world finally slows down.   
“Well do you recall any outstanding features of your attackers?” Ask Shika with worried eyes.  
Sakura winces as her shoulder suddenly becomes engulfed in pain. She grits her teeth silently as she rubs her shoulder.  
“Not really...” She grits out as the pain begin to travel up her neck, “It was dark.” The words pass through her lips as the black specs suddenly engulf her in darkness.   
HELP, she screamed but knew well enough her lips would not move. Her body felt heavy as pain irradiated from her fucking shoulder. She curses herself silently as she figured she had been poison. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. She chanted to herself. If she hadn’t been so distracted with Yamato, she would have caught it sooner. In a blink, her body begins to try to tear itself apart. Sakura couldn’t remember how long she screamed in her subconscious; she only remembers the pain fading and her mind slipping into a dream-like state.

“Sakura! Sakura-Chan!” whined an annoyingly familiar voice.  
Sakura slowly blinks her eyes open to bright light. She sits up and rubs away the fading light from her vision. As she refocuses, she is shocked to see a young Naruto crouching before her. Behind him stood an aloof Sasuke and an amused Kakashi-sensei.   
“Naruto?” Came her hoarse reply.  
Naruto laughs with that big cheesy grin of his.   
“Easy there Sakura-Chan you took a good hit from that tree branch up there.” He snickered.   
Sakura’s eyes follow his finger up toward the low hanging branch above them. Embarrassment immediately flooded her. She vaguely recalls traveling with team seven across the woods when she suddenly becomes in awe of Sasuke’s excellent form.   
From the back of her mind, her inner voice yelled, “CHA! Your moron, way to impress your future husband. Now get back up and play it off.”  
On shaky legs, Sakura manages to stand while simultaneously knocking a laughing Naruto upside his head.  
“Knock it off you idiot” She seethes with mortification.  
“Enough guys.” Calls Kakashi. “We’re almost home. Sakura, are you okay?”  
Sakura hangs her head with defeat. “yes Kakashi-Sensei” She mumbles.  
He nods before taking off with Naruto hot on his heels. A pair of blue sandals enters her vision suddenly. She looks up to see a pressed lip Sasuke before her. He taps two fingers onto her forehead, pushing her back a bit.  
“Watch where you’re going.” He mutters out before taking off like a whip.   
Warmth fills Sakura like a gusher in the springtime. Her vision fades as she takes off toward her team in the trees.

Her eyes open once more to a dark street in Konoha. Confused, she looks around and notes a paved sidewalk with a few benches and street light. Ahead she makes out the shadow of a familiar person. Heart pounding, she takes off toward the shadow. Her mind flashes through all her memories of their old missions together. Sasuke’s youthful face as laughter filled his heart, or his fiercest look when their team was in grave danger. Sakura knew in the farthest corner part of her heart that Sasuke was a good guy. If only Sakura could get Sasuke to see His reflection through her eyes, then maybe he would understand her feelings. She reaches out toward him, yet the figure fades further away as her vision goes dark.  
Light blinds her again. She rubs it away only to see Sasuke standing amongst a trio of people.  
“You don’t belong here.” His empty voice echoes.   
Anger boils in Sakura’s blood. Of all the things, she would raise hell if he passed on her again. She tilted that head high, her chin straight and pointed.  
“I’m joining you.” She declares.   
To her pride, her voice did not shake — this time. A blurry redhead steps forward, her hands placed upon her thick hips.  
“You look as if you’ll only get in the way.” She sneers. Sakura steps up to the smaller woman before narrowing her eyes down at the redhead. Calmly, Sakura calls forth her chakra in her fist. She feels the slight sting of charka emitting from her fist.  
She raises the said fist, “Care to repeat that.” She growls.  
Sasuke steps between the Kunoichis and lightly flicks Sakura’s forehead. 

“Enough.” He shouts. Those shinning black orbs make her heart flutter unexpectedly as she lowers her fist.  
“You can join us- for now.” He claims before jumping away.   
She couldn’t help but feel reassured of her current path. She glances at the proud back of the Uchiha Man as he leads the group of bandits into another mission. Determination set in stone, she follows until the memory fades away again.  
In a quick session, she recalls their fated battle. Sasuke’s harsh words and her dark realizations that he was no longer the man she had once loved. As the memories flowed onward like a river, she began to remember why it was she had loved him in the first place. He was devoted to his studies to be the best ninja possible, plus he had the room for empathy here it was best suited at times. Even more, appealing to Sakura was his vulnerability when he finally opened about his family unfortunate demise.   
Her vision slowly fades out as she approaches Sasuke’s dark figure, but it quickly shimmers back to Konoha, except the streets were all busted up, and the buildings half tore down. All around people were cheering in victory, claiming that the war was finally over. Sakura chuckles as her hands brace themselves on her knees. She could feel the slow ache of exhaustion in her limbs, and various pings of pain threw out her body. Her mind briefly shadows over the many moments during the war. Everything from their battle with ten tails to Negi’s sudden death, to the time dimension, jumps with Obito. Finally what drove her to the tents of the various wounded was her beloved Sasuke. After all the battling in the war, Sasuke and Naruto still found it in them to duke it out one last time. By the time She and Kakashi had gotten to the idiots, they were both near the brink of death and missing an arm. Sakura remembered Sasuke’s sad eyes as he apologized wholeheartedly for his notorious behavior.   
All she could do was cry and say, “You idiot. I know,” as she healed them both.  
Hours later, after setting many bones and healing major injuries, Sakura finally gave herself a break. That night she decided she would rest under a tree outside the parade of tents, set up for the civilians whose houses had got destroyed during the fight.   
Sakura remembered her feet felt heavy as she trudges her feet toward her sought out spot. She remembers the world spinning before suddenly freefalling. Instead of hitting the ground, she found herself staring into the black abyss that was Sasuke’s eyes.   
“you’re as clumsy as ever.” He mutters with the ghost of a smile.   
Sakura snaps to attention as she blushes furiously. She pulls out of his arm and immediately regrets it as a sad look shadows his face.  
“S-Sasuke.” She stutters out, “You should be resting.”  
The sadness in his face dries up as smug grin crosses his face. 

“I couldn’t sleep.” He cheeses. Sakura rolls her eyes as he passes her arms about her chest.   
“I see some things never change. I assume Naruto up as well?” Sakura could feel her brow twitch with irritation at the two idiots and their insubordination.   
“More than likely.” Sasuke laughs softly.  
The very sound is like music to Sakura’s ears, leaving her momentarily stupid at the sound. Her arms fall slowly to her side as she smiles, lovingly at the happy man before her.   
Her vision fades again, as her heart cries out for that image just one more time. What she wouldn’t give to see Sasuke laugh so freely again, or even smile at her. Her heart pounds thunderously as her vision blows open to soft candle lights.  
Confused, she looks around the room before glancing down at herself. Her hand slowly creeps up to her blushing face. Sakura found herself wearing a lacy red bra and matching panties with a sheer black rob gracing her slender shoulders.  
“Sakura.” Comes a low hiss.   
She jerks back only to freeze as her eyes descend upon the half-naked flesh of Sasuke. He grips the towel at his waist a little tighter as his eyes devour her full figure.  
“Are you sure about this.” He whispers.  
She feels her self-gulp but nods her head firmly. Tremors slowly rock down her spine as she steps over the thresh hold of his room.   
“I’m sure.” She says with more confidence than she felt.  
Slowly the two meet each other in the room. Each one was taking time in memorizing the pale flesh of the other in awe and admiration. Slowly Sasuke reaches up to cup Sakura’s soft face to rub his thumb over her opened lips. Sakura darts her tongue out to taste him and smiles widely as his eyes darken with lust. She slowly removes the sheer robe and lets it fall to the floor as she raises her hand to his face.   
She cups that elusive face in her hands, “I love you,” she whispers before leaning her lips toward his.  
His hand quickly grasps her waist as he pulls her tightly to him. That wonderous mouth of his quickly dominates hers as he playfully nips at her bottom lip. She whimpers as she opens her mouth wider to receive his soft, silky tongue. Then, when she thinks she will explode from the pleasure of his tongue, devouring her mouth, he suddenly breaks away to nip at her neck as he backs her toward the bed. Lost in the heat building between her legs, Sakura obeys silently.  
The two quickly fall into the bed where their hands immediately remove any further barriers. However, Sakura’s mind goes blank after she feels Sasuke’s hot mouth latched onto her nipple and sucked tightly, making her moan. She remembers the sharp pain followed by a rush of intense lust, making her squirm like a mouse caught by a hawk.   
She remembers the crisp contrast of Sasuke skin as he slowly tweaked and rubbed her body into a hot mess. She couldn’t but wonder if he felt just as warm as she had that night. Regardless she couldn’t recall much except when he finally penetrated her, it hurt like hell but only briefly as he quickly took her mind away from it by focusing on her nipples once more. That night she remembered climaxing so hard, she swore she saw stars.   
Later after both their lust became sedated, they laid their side by side, panting as if there wasn’t enough air to go around. Sakura remembers looking over at his sweaty, smiling face and grinning to herself. She finally had him; Mind, body, and soul. That night the two cuddles together in the low embers of the candle and reminisced of bygones and late memories.  
When Sakura woke next, she was sitting at the bar with fellow Shinobi. Her chest felt like an enormous elephant decided to sit down on her. To her right, Naruto throws back a shot before nudging a somber Sakura.  
“Cheer up Sakura, He’ll be back.” came her closest friend chipper response.  
Sakura nodded numbly as her finger circles the rim of her shot of Saki.   
“Besides,” He added, “He’s helping out the village in the process. Isn’t that good.”   
The later part sounded more as a question than a statement. Sakura knew Naruto was right. Sasuke’s departure was as much for the village as it was for a shot of redeeming his name. Some small part of Sakura felt guilty because she wanted him here and now WITH her. She desired to build memories as a couple for better or for worse. As things stand now, she didn’t know if they were an item or not. The whole thing makes the sad girl sigh with misery as she downs the shot finally.  
“Your right.” Sakura finally croaks as Naruto orders another round. “He needs this as much the village does.” She decided.  
Although worry ate her heart, given his weird behavior before leaving, she trusted her deep-rooted feelings for him. She decided she would wait for him if her heart would let her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update I've had a lot on my plate recently. However, I do plan to continue this series. I'm just working out some kinks in the story. If your patient with me and this enormous fiction, I promise you will not be disappointed in the endgame. As alway thank you for the read and let me know what you think in the comments.


	16. Itsy Bitsy Spider

Ino decided she fucking hated sand. She hated the color, the texture, and the fact that the fucking dessert was a never-ending sea of godforsaken mono brown sand! Ino sighs as she rubs the sweat away from her eyes. Lucky for the group of leaf Shinobi they were able to borrow some sun-oriented gear from the Kazekage before leaving. However, their equipment entailed full-body light armor to prevent sun damage and wind goggles to prevent Ino’s current predicament.   
Although one look at those big bastards and Ino swore, she would never wear those ugly beasties like things. Currently, as the group rest for a period in the shadow of a large boulder, she begins to reconsider the ungodly offer. She mounts her irritation to the fact she is half-starved and exhausted from her previous studying habits. Beside her, Shikamaru nudges her elbow lightly. She rolls her head toward him and grunts. He hands her his canteen with a soldier pill.  
“Careful Ino, this heat exhaustion is no joke.” He smiles winsomely causing her heart to constrict tightly.  
She takes his offering quickly without thanks.  
Shikamaru mutters under his breath, “Troublesome woman.”  
Ino quickly takes the pill with a large gulp of water.   
“So, what’s the plan now.” She hoarsely asked as she wipes away the saliva from her mouth.   
Naruto collapse next to her as Sasuke looks out among the warm dessert.  
“Now we try to locate the village.” States Naruto as he reaches for her canteen. Ino rolls her eyes at the obvious before handing him the water.  
“No, shit.” She mutters. “But how are we supposed to find a village that technically doesn’t exist.”  
Shikamaru grunts as he draws his knee up to his chest. “We have potential coordinates, that should suffice for now until we get closer toward the intended target.”  
Above a large black hawk starts to circle above their collective heads. “Speaking of which,” remarks Naruto, “Any news, Sasuke?”   
Ino watches as the towering man closes his eyes in concentration. She vaguely remembers a time when she had a massive crush on the dark-haired boy. Admittedly he had only grown more handsome over the years, yet Ino found his cold personality to be too chilly for her peculiar likings. However, it seemed cold and detached were the very thing her best friend adored a lot. Ino smiles softly to herself as she thinks of Sakura’s infatuation with the boy. As kids, it was always a big competition to see who could hold his attention the longest. In the long run, it seemed her friend won that battle yet lost the war.  
After a long pause of silence, Sasuke finally answers Naruto’s question.   
“Gaara says there’s village three miles out toward the edge of the border for the Sand.”  
“But is it THE village.” Inquires Shikamaru.  
Sasuke narrows his eyes at the shadow user before finally blowing his bangs out from his face.  
“I can only assume, but we need to make it quick.” He urges, his shoulder tense. His face screws up in a look of worry.   
“Sasuke, what’s wrong?” Naruto urges as he quickly begins to stand.  
An uneasy feeling starts to stir in Ino’s gut as she tensely waits for the Uchiha’s reply. Above the bird lets out a crowing noise before shooting off somewhere. Sasuke’s eyes follow the bird until it is out of sight.  
“We need to get moving.” He demands  
“I have a bad feeling about this “Shikamaru mutters to Ino as he helps her up. The Kunoichi can only nod in response as they all take off yet again.  
The group of Shinobi takes off, leaving a trail of sand in their wake. About an hour or so later the group finally sees the horizon of the said village before them. One thing about the desert, it's every shifting sand on a level straight ground that mirrored its horizontal skies. Thus, as the team slowed its pace, they begin to talk strategies.  
“Alright, guys, our mission is to infiltrate and recover the substance we believe is critical in finding a cure for Sakura," Shikamaru states the obvious.   
They give a collective nod before Sasuke goes into perimeter details.  
“The village is about five miles wide and centered around a large tower that’s half crumbling from the weather.”  
“I assume the village is abandoned, no?” Ask Shikamaru. Sasuke nods his head.  
“Garuda didn’t sense any presence in the city, however” Sasuke voice trails off.  
Shikamaru sighs, “Right. If there’s any sign of Ninja, are the best bet is not to engage unless necessary.”   
At this, he looks pointedly at Naruto who smiles at the group sheepishly.  
“I hear ya “Naruto yaps, “I’ll be on my best behavior. Besides, time is of the essence.” His voice grows somber as he recalls the reason for their mission.  
“Alright then, Ino what are we looking for?” Shikamaru calls out.  
Ino rubs her face tiredly. “It’s a succulent that’s defined by it’s weird W shape and crystal blue pedals.”  
“Uh...” buts in Naruto, “Succulent?”  
Ino sighs, causing her bangs to flutter out a bit. “A cactus that has flowers. But be careful guys,” She adds, “this plant excretes poisons from its needles. When you handle it, use extreme caution and don’t let it puncture your skin.”  
They all nod their heads, respectively. “So, we what do we harvest of the plant?” asked Sasuke  
“ I need the entire plant to ensure the correct compounds are mixed.” Informs Ino with a firm voice.  
“That settles that.” Confirms Shikamaru with a clap of his hand. By now the squad is meters away from the eerie village. “For now, we’ll split into teams of two. Make sure to check all possible shops and resident homes. If the plant is naturally occurring, then someone’s bound to have it somewhere. We will meet in an hour at the tower in the middle of the village.”  
He takes a hard look at his team of strong Shinobi. His uneasy feeling continues to grow, but he puts it aside for now.   
“If the enemy engages you, send up a smoke signal.” He taps his pocket with the paper bombs.  
“Understood.” He calls out.  
“Hai!” they answer. He sighs and eyes the front gate that is fast approaching them.  
“Good. Ino you’re with Naruto, cover the west side and be careful.”  
Both blondes nod once more before jumping off toward their desired location. Shikamaru takes one look at the stoic Sasuke and sighs wearily; the Hokage told him the guy could be trusted. As cautious as Shikamaru tended to be, he still couldn’t shake the feeling the guy was still hiding something. It is this combination of distrust and worries over Ino’s safety that he sent his favorite blonde teammate with Naruto.  
“Looks like we get east, “comments Sasuke pulling Shikamaru from his thought. He nods silently and follows the man into the quiet city.

A shiver runs down Ino’s slender back as the two Shinobi enter the west gates. Everything was eerily silent. Even the barriers, which stood as tall as the ones back home, seemed destitute. It looked as if the town had not been disturb in a long, long time. As their feet scrap across the rough sand of the threshold, Ino couldn’t help but notice the lack of dust on all the inanimate objects. Like the greeting desk to there right had notebooks and pencils but no coat of dirt to suggest years of abandonment. Instead, the entire empty village seemed as if the people just vanished rather abruptly. Ino rubs her arms absentmindedly as she walkers closer to Naruto. He notices her tense movements and nudges her lightly.  
“I’ll take the businesses’ here on this street if you want to check the local housing the next street over.” Prompts Naruto with a huge grin.   
Ino chews her lips but puts her growing worry aside. They had little time to spare, she rationalized. Ino nods and takes off toward the residency area.  
The next street over held small adobe-like homes. All the doors were old wooden things that gave away at the touché of Ino's hand. The first few she enters were typical one bedroom’s home with a kitchenette and small living room. For the most part, it seemed as single or younger couples lived here. To her slight curiosity, she noted the same thing as before. There was no dust collected upon any other the items any of the house. The house themselves still seemed to hold faint smells of the previous owners but none of the musty old age you would expect from an abandoned home. Her feeling of easiness began to grow into a hard knot in her stomach as she treks her way to the last house on the street. This adobe was a large one that stood taller than rest by several feet and larger around.  
Ino enters slowly keeping her eyes peeled for any sudden movements or oddities. As she opens the quiet home, she comes faced with a familiar scene — a lived-in home with no residents and no dust from lack of company. Everything in the house seemed in order. Random house things lay threw out the place; even the clothes are in excellent condition with a faint scent of laundry still clinging to them. Eventually, she found herself in one of the two bathrooms in the house. With weary eyes, she begins to look for expired dates. After searching through the multitude of bathroom junk (such as deodorant, mouth wash, face cream, etc., etc.), she finds a half-empty tube of toothpaste. She scrutinizes it, noting the expiry date of about five to six years ago.  
From another room, she hears the creaking of a window opened. She drops the paste and quickly withdraws her kunai. She crouches down and slowly creeps out of the bathroom, keeping her ears to tune to any strange sounds. Inch by inch she finally comes back into the rather large dining area. The sun beats down ruthlessly from a window across the room. She approaches it with caution while eyeing its outside content. She takes note of no footprints or disturbance, except for a single grey feather below the window. She runs out the backdoor and carefully picks up the light feather. She holds it up to light and gasp as the feather suddenly disappears. She covers it pulls over toward the shade of her hand then sighs in relief as the feather reappeared.  
“Shit.” She mumbles to herself and takes off toward Naruto.

Across town, Shikamaru groans as the sun slowly bake him. Ahead of him, Sasuke leads to them into yet another business. He quickly runs toward the back as Shikamaru checks out the front. They’ve visited over thirty places of companies so far, and none carried a plant that fit Ino’s description. Shikamaru walks to the countertop and slowly began to run his finger across the counter. The lack of dust in this abandoned village unsettled Shikamaru. Even more so was the utter lack of ANY plant life in the town at that. Although he hopes his growing hunch was wrong, after all, he could be paranoid. As he takes another look around the spotless business, he couldn’t help but feel uneasy.  
From the back, he hears a frustrated sigh from Sasuke.  
“no plant.” Calls Shikamaru.  
The pale man walks out briskly, determination set in his shoulder.   
“Not yet.” He replies.   
Shikamaru follows the guy quietly as he begins to tinker on a thought. Back at the library, Ino informed them about a village that had been poisoned overnight due to a government experiment. Perhaps due to the illicit activity, all the greenery in this village was confiscated for research. Or better yet used to poison the town itself. Shikamaru nods his head to himself before lifting it to notice Sasuke paused in the middle of the empty street.   
“Everything okay?” He inquires as he slowly approaches the man.   
He can see worry lines deepen his face as his eyes squint at something. Shikamaru looks up and sees a giant hawk circling above.  
“We have forty minutes before the storm hits.” States Sasuke somberly.  
Shikamaru eyebrows hit the roof. “Say what!”   
Sasuke meets the intelligent man’s eyes with a cold hard look. “You heard me, Nara. Forty minutes till the sand storm hits.”   
“SHIT.” Curses Shikamaru. “We got to find the others and bunker down till the storm blows over.”  
A look of pure devastation flutters across Sasuke’s face. IF Shikamaru had blinked, he would have missed as the man quickly covers it up with a menacing look.  
“We NEED to find that plant,” Sasuke stressed.   
The Nara man sighs as he starts to scratch the back of his head.  
“I know.” He sighs. “At this point, we don’t have many options.”  
He looks up to see a murderous look etch into the older boy’s face.   
“Look,” Shikamaru stands to his full height and puts some force behind his voice. “I understand your concern but- “  
A loud crashing noise stops Shikamaru’s words as he notes a massive grey cloud is forming over the cluster of adobes. He shares a look with Sasuke before they both shot off toward their comrades.

The grey smoke swirls around the street, causing limited vision for whoever was unfortunate enough to be caught in its wrath. Ino coughs harshly into her hands as she lets Naruto pull her away.  
“You-" Cough, cough, cough “-Idiot.” She huffs, trying to catch her breath.   
Her eyes sting harshly causing her vision to blur from tears as Naruto suddenly jerks her into a large building. There’s a loud bang followed by Naruto pushing her up against the wall. He presses a cloth into her hand, which she uses to wipe away the sting of her eyes.  
“What the hell Naruto.” She barks harshly. Naruto sighs before peeping out the nearby window.  
“What else was I supposed to do Ino. They surrounded us.” He informs her with a smug look.  
Ino shoves the cloth back at him before blinking rapidly.  
“yeah, but peppered smoke? Seriously!” She whines as she rubs the last bit from her red sore eyes. Naruto chuckles softly. “Should have been wearing these.” He taps the goggles on his face.  
Ino sends him a murderous glare before finally surveying the room. The room was large, with various desk scattered throughout the room. The only light penetrating the darkness was the slim light from the window they crouched down next too.  
“Do you see anyone?” She sighs.  
Naruto nods his head no as he peers through the window once more.  
“Where in the hell are we then” Ino mutters as she switches her weight onto her other foot.  
“The large adobe building Shikamaru told us about,” Naruto stated.  
Ino nods. “Let’s check it out then.” She declares, moving away from the window in the crouched state.  
“But what about those ninjas!” Naruto calls baffled.  
Ino twist at the waist to peg him with a hard look,  
“Keep an eye out. Besides, if I don’t recall they didn’t have goggles, so they probably retreated as well.”  
Naruto sighs but silently agrees and follows his fellow shinobi. Ino’s mind, however, kept replaying the unusual event repeatedly as they slowly combined the place over.  
After she found the feather, she just knew someone or something was watching them. Possibly even waiting for an ambush. She remembered making it to Naruto as he was coming out of yet another business, the look of defeat prominent on his face. She was just about to warn him when five figures suddenly popped up from the sand beneath their feet. As he stated before they were surrounded, each ninja holding various weapons at the ready. Naruto shared a similar oh shit look with Ino before suddenly dropping that fucking bomb. Ino’s eye twitches with irritation upon remembering.   
“Ino look!” Naruto whispers, pulling her from her thoughts.  
She glances over to the direction his hand pointed and nodded. There on a far wall, a bookcase stood slightly ajar. Slowly they approached the case to investigate. Ino stands and follows the seam up until finally; She decides to see the edge of the bookcase could be nudged open. She puts her back to the jarred ledge and begins to push. When it fails to give away, Naruto joins her and doubles the effort. There is a loud groan before the door quickly swings open, causing the two ninjas to stumble from the suddenness. As they straighten up, they both peer, not the dark chamber. Neither of them could make heads or tails, of the dark entrance.  
“Should we wait for the others?” asked Naruto hesitantly. Ino chews her lip for a moment.  
“I don’t know, perhaps- “her words are cut short as the hairs on her neck begin to rise.  
She grasps ahold of Naruto and forces him to jerk down with her. There’s a loud thunk as she sees a kunai embed itself in the wall just above them.  
“Run.” She hisses to fool as she twists around and throws out a star with a paper bomb.  
Naruto takes off into the dark tunnel, and Ino quickly follows him after her bomb detonates, causing a smokescreen for cover. Soon darkness envelops the two ninjas who continue to run regardless of light or apparent destination.


	17. Lets hear it for the boys

Daybreak broke out across the sleeping village of Konoha. In its misty morning fog, Yamato finds himself running his usual route. As of lately, he finds himself in a somewhat predictable routine. Every day it starts with his early jog followed by some light work out with Genma then by noon he finds himself sitting up at the hospital with Sakura waiting for the return of the young Ninja. Yamato huffs a little heavier as he rounds a quiet corner. In all honesty, it was the early mornings that were his favorite time of day. It’s just him and his feet eating asphalt as all his guilt pound threw his feet as he treads throughout the village.  
Even now, his mind still found a way to torture his already confused heart. What if he had just blown her off. What if he had redirected her kiss. What if he had insisted they go back to his place. He knew he was a damn fool to think he hadn’t planned on making a move on her that night. Still, his mind continued this constant guilt trip on him. As the sweat from his face stings his eyes, he can’t help but wonder if he could ever outrun this horrible, gut-wrenching feeling.  
Yamato rounds another corner and starts to slow as the training grounds come into view. Beneath a large tree, he spots Genma stretching before their work out. In the back of Yamato’s head, Kakashi’s voices echo out loud; Do you love her as much as he did? Are you sure this infatuation is nothing more than getting your dick wet? If you love her, make sure you keep fighting for her…...  
“What with the serious face bro?” Calls Genma as clicks his senbon across his mouth.  
Yamato sighs wearily before wiping away at his face, “Nothing,” He sighs.  
“Your thinking about her again aren’t you.” Genma deadpans.  
Yamato can only look away with guilt as he starts up his stretches.  
Genma lets out the worlds biggest sigh, one that would impress even Shikamaru.  
“Seriously Yamato you got to let her go. You're no good for her health.” He teases lightly.   
One withering look from Yamato had him wincing from his lack of tact.  
“Too soon,” He jokes with a grimace.  
The two ninjas fall into silence as they began their daily warm-ups. Genma knows this whole situation with Sakura has been slowly eating away at his close friend. And quite frankly his friend was starting to look the worse for wear. He could tell by the slight shrug of the proud man’s shoulder. Or even the dark circles of his eyes where sleep began to evade him. Something had to give soon, he determined, or the poor fool wouldn’t make it another day. Ten reps deep into their push-ups, he decides to break the long silence as they rest up before their pull-ups.  
Huffing, Genma pulls out his senbon and wipes the sweat from his forehead.  
“talk to me Yamato.” He smacks the man next to him.  
Yamato swats his hand away as he draws his knees up and rests his forearms on them.  
“There is nothing much to say,” Yamato mumbles as he hawks a wad of spit between his legs.  
Genma leans back against the tree and slight grimaces s his arms scream from their brutal exercise.  
“well, that look on your face says plenty. So go ahead and spit it out already,” Genma insisted.  
Yamato sighs as he lifts his face toward the sky, “I don’t know man.”  
Genma rolls his eyes, “So she’s an X teammate you tried to bang and failed miserably to do so.”  
Yamato’s eyes shoot death daggers at the tactless idiot next to him. Genma, however, levels with Him.  
“Careful there, I’m starting to think you like this chick more than you let on.”  
Genma’s stomach falls as he watches the man whip his face away quick. He was falling hard for her, he determined.  
“Do you.” Genma slightly hesitated as he places the senbon back in his mouth, “Do you love her?”  
The heavy silence following his question stretches out until finally, the serious man cracks and reveals his true intentions.  
“I don’t know how to describe it,” Yamato admits with defeat, “I mean yeah, she’s smart, strong as hell and so,” he struggles to find the right words.  
Genma, however, looks pointedly at the fool, “Forbidden?”   
Yamato grimaces at the term, “At one point, yeah.”   
“So, don’t you think some of this infatuation is part of THAT.” Concluded Genma with a smirk.  
Yamato rubs his head, tiredly, “I don’t know,” he admits. “But Jesus for a moment, when she was in my arms…” Yamato trails off as he recalls her soft flesh.  
“It’s called thinking with your dick. It’s a classic case between Sensi and student.” Genma retorted.  
Yamato rolls his eyes. To think he was talking Love with Mr. Playboy of the year was nearly laughable. Regardless he listens to Genma as he goes on with his tirade.  
“Jesus, therefore, the Hokage gave us strict guidelines about fraternizing within squads. This shit is bad news. I mean yeah you got a hot babe, shaped in all the right areas but since you CAN’T have her, you start putting her up on a pedestal where she’s untouchable.” Genma lets out the breath he had been holding and attempts to drop the screwed tension on his face.  
If Yamato had not known any better, he would think Genma was describing a case he had to deal with, previously.  
Genma looks pointedly to his friend as he wraps up their conversation,  
“Look, all I’m saying is that she is nothing more than a fantasy for you. And trust me, 9 out of 10 times the reality doesn’t even compare to it. So, save yourself the guilt trip, and fucking carry on like usual,” he concluded with a big smile.

Yamato scoffs at his audacity, “You seem so sure of yourself.”

Genma rolls his eyes, “Dude get your dick wet for a change then come at me again with this oh she’s so lovely dove bull shit.”

Genma stands abruptly and stares hard at his naïve friend, “How do you even know she’s the one when you haven’t even tried playing the field.”

Yamato stands toe to toe with the infuriating man, “How do you know your still not craving the taste of daisies?”

Genma blanches at his friend. “W-what does she have to do with anything!?”  
Yamato perks an eyebrow at his closest friend, “Whose been in your bed since the squad left some time ago?”

Genma clicks his mouth tight against his senbon as his face grows stormy. Yamato can only laugh at his friend’s expression. He had him cornered, and Genma knew it.

“Come at me again with this lovey dove shit when you get your SHIT straight.” Yamato states before returning to their work out routine.   
After a few moments of stone silence, Genma joins him as well. For the rest of the morning, the two double-time it to work out some of their collective frustrations.  
Later that morning, after the friend’s part ways, Yamato finds himself trailing the smell of hot food down the market district. Mabey some ramen will do me right, Yamato muses as weaves in and out of the crowds. Sure, enough, his stomach lets out a growl determine that food was the best course of action. Yamato soon slips into the nearest ramen stand and orders a quick bowl to go. As he idly waits for his food, he happens to look out into the bustling streets. A distinctive red head bobs up and down among the pedestrians. Follow her, his mind whispers suspiciously. Eyes narrowed, Yamato makes his way unexpectedly out of the shop. He made a note to himself to go back later and pay for his inconvenience. Slowly but steady, he weaves in out the crowd until he had the red-headed woman within earshot of himself.   
She stops suddenly at an herb stand and buys a bundle of things before sipping back into the crowd. Yamato’s paranoia ate away at him as he follows her. Kind of peculiar for a pregnant woman to be so active during the hottest part of the day, especially, one that was recently in the hospital for a minor heat stroke. Even more so for her to be so graceful amongst a crowd as fast pass as the morning workers. She is a ninja though; his mind rendered him. Yamato comes short as the redhead suddenly disappears. Stunned, he looks around frantically for her. A small hand suddenly taps his shoulder. Startled Yamato twist around only o gape in shock at the redhead behind him.

“Well hello there, Yamato. I thought that was you. What brings you out so earlier.” She says with a smile as she pushes her blocky glasses up her slender nose.  
“I, uh was out for my morning exercise.” He fumbles like a newbie. 

Karen chuckles before looping her arm in his.   
Together they start walking with the large crowd, “well if you’re not too busy this morning do you mind accompanying me for my daily shopping. It seems this weather doesn’t agree with my fragile state of being.” She lovingly rubs her growing bump. 

Guilty as they come he reluctantly agrees to join the pregnant kunoichi. Karen only smiles with gratitude before pulling him into the stream of busy pedestrians.

“So, any word yet from the team?” she asks with a sweet grin as she stops them by a trinket shop.  
Yamato grimaces as she bends down to examine a fan closer causing him to bend over her awkwardly.

“Uh, not yet. Any word from Sasuke?” He counters as he attempts to pull away. She lets him go as she picks up a baby rattle. 

“EEK!” She swiftly turns about and shakes the noisy rattler in his face. 

“Isn’t this thing the cutest!?” She squeals.

Yamato scratches the back of his head, “I guess, yeah.”

Karin rolls her eyes before turning to pay the vendor.  
“Well just think, one day Sakura will be buying something similar for yells love baby.” She gives him a big wink before pulling Yamato off into the crowd again.

“W-w-w-ell I-I don’t know about that,” He stutters out. 

Suddenly the idea of having a mundane life with the Pinkett freaked him out hardcore.   
He hears the redhead giggled, “Listen to you,” She chimes, “I mean at the rate you guys have BEEN going, its only natural to assume.”  
Yamato suddenly freezes and makes the Kunoichi stop abruptly amongst the swarm around them. Confused, she looks up to him with the most innocent look on her narrow face.

“Exactly WHAT are you implying.” Yamato bits out with a stern face. Noticing the tension surrounding the current course of the conversation, the Kunoichi disengages herself from Him.

“It was just light teasing Hun.” She smiles as she rubs her belly. Yamato sighs as he rubs the bridge of his nose, today had his wind tighter than rope.

“Excuse me,” He says politely, “I have some stuff to attend to.” He turns swiftly on heels only to be held up by a light touché on his should.   
He pauses to throw her a wary look over his shoulder.

“Listen,” Karin hesitates a moment before finally spitting it out, “I know our lovers have a complicated past together, but I assure you, their love was.” She trailed off as she struggled to find the words.   
Yamato grits his teeth as the subject become a quickthorn in his side.   
A feeling of suffocation and anger begin to bubble up in his chest as the woman finally brokers her thought, “A virgin. Sasuke told how he was her first and how she become overly clingy afterward.”   
She rolls her eyes as if the idea was audacious. “But I’m sure she’s perfect for such a serious man like yourself.” She concluded with a warm smile.

“Good day, Karin.” He deadpans before swiftly walking away. As his back retreats into the crowd, Karin can’t help but smirk to herself.

Later after a long shower, Yamato finds himself resigned in Sakura’s hospital room once more. Today he notes her clammy, pale skin is looking worse for wear and her dull, flat pink hair buried beneath her slumbering head. Yamato sighs as he rubs his finger down her sunken face slightly. He had so much to say to her. Even as she layout of it and silent, the words still fail to burst from his mouth.  
Although if he were honest with himself now, he would admit that the idea of being anything, but fuck buddies terrified him. But in new kind of way, sort of like trying new gear out for the Root organization while being on a high ranked mission. The lack of security and assurance had him in a state of limbo.   
Did she even like him? He knew she was obsessed with Sasuke for years. He could imagen she couldn’t let that go so lightly. At the same time, he couldn’t help but think how unworthy he was of such an amazing woman. She was a damn hard worker, who was as smart as a whip and as loyal as they came. All these attributes and more had Yamato infatuated with a young woman but were his friend, right? Was he seeking her because he hadn’t taken a lover in years? Hell did she see him more than just a rebound for Sasuke? Did he want to be more than just a rebound? I mean, yeah, he admired her and quite frankly he fantasized about her on more than one occasion but was he ready for anything serious? Is she capable from on from Sasuke? He knew she still had lingering feelings for him, but Yamato also knew she was fed up with Sasuke's childish antics. He knew from their previous pow wow that She had grown a lot in the year they were separated but had she expanded enough to move on?  
Yamato rubbed the back of his neck as his eyes stray to the window. Outside the rain clouds border the falling horizon. According to the weather, torrential rain was impending soon on the drowning village of Konoha. Sighing Yamato slowly makes his way to the windows ledge. Perhaps at the end of the day, he was overthinking all of this. He likes a girl who might not want him back. At the same time, he had to figure out if he really loved her or just lusted after something he thought about consistently the past few years.  
A knock from the door draws him out of his head. Shino walks in her eyes, downcast onto her clipboard. Yamato could tell by the sagging of Shino’s shoulders and bags beneath her eyes; the woman was exhausted. Since Sakura’s illness, the Kunoichi had to handle all the hospital work single handily.

“Any changes Doc?” he asks solemnly. He is startled the woman pause before briefly glancing up at him.

She pushes her stray locks aside before addressing him, “So far, she’s only getting worse.”

She presses her lips into a thin line before checking the various tubes and dials. “But hopefully they’ll be back anytime,” Shino adds with a bit of perkiness.

Yamato can only nod in response before looking longingly back out the window. Perhaps tonight he’ll change up his routine. After all, it wasn’t like the two were a couple, and the more the man sat and stewed, the more his head buzzed about the information Karin felt the need to share. The very idea that Sasuke was Sakura’s first made him incredibly uncomfortable. But it wasn’t like he had any room to talk given how many women he led to his bed in the hope of bleaching pink from his brain.   
Feeling parched and driven nuts by his inner monologue Yamato excuse himself from the hospital and searches out his closest friend.


	18. Sick Like Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hear ye! Hear Ye! There is a trigger warning for rape in this chapter. I have noted in the story, so please be aware and read accordingly.

By the time Shikamaru and Sasuke made it close to the clearing, they found it impossible to get any closer than two blocks from the original spot because of the peppered bomb.  
Sasuke coughs harshly into his cape as Shikamaru wipes away at his eyes. “Seriously.”   
He grumbles. From above, a large hawk lets out a craw before swooping down. Shikamaru flinches as the massive creature lands next to Sasuke. To both their slight relief, the smoke seemed to stir away as the beast flapped its wings. 

“Get on.” Calls Sasuke as he jumps up on the bird’s neck. 

Shikamaru sighs but quickly follows suit. Above, in the sky, they could make out significant parameter of the bomb, but no figures struck other than the dense smoke. Sasuke nods toward the large building in the center of the smoke.  
“If they’re anywhere, s in there.” He states.   
Shikamaru nods as the hawk takes them to a window far above the lingering smoke. Sasuke bust opens the window allowing them both to enter with caution. To Shikamaru’s slight uneasiness, he notes the lack of dust or disturbance to anything in the room. As the two shinobi slowly cross the room, they hear a muffled creak from the empty hallway. Sasuke blends with the shadow as Shikamaru presses himself into the wall. A moment passes as both men strain to hear another sound. A pit patter of feet echoes in the hallway followed by another muffled creaking noise. Slowly they enter the hall and begin looking into the other rooms by the dim light of the various windows. 

Each room was the same as the one they had entered — nothing but large dark areas with various desk and chairs littering the space. Sasuke suppresses a shudder he follows the Nara man’s lead. The lack of movement in such a tremendous atmosphere made Sasuke think of his clan’s compound. The eerier silence that cloaked them like a blanket kept nagging at Sasuke. He scrunches his brow in confusion as to the Nara man suddenly come to a halt. The Nara man tilts his head before suddenly throwing a small pebble into an empty room. Sasuke melds back into the shadow as the Nara man hides behind a corner. A moment of silence passes when the sound of soft patting of feet echo in the stale air. Sasuke quickly calls forth his Sharingan and promptly sweeps the entire hallway in his scope. From outside, there comes a break in the clouds. It causes a sliver of sunlight to penetrate the dim room next to him, creating a line of light to enter the hallway.  
That’s when Sasuke catches the faintest hiccup of ligh.t something jets across the stream and into another room. Knowing the Nara man will follow, he quietly takes off toward the desired place only to find it empty of anything or anyone. He fees the presence of the man behind him and minds links a favor to his raven outside. Moments later, the cloud outside is stirred into a frenzy before dissipating, causing the room to flood with light from the afternoon rays suddenly.  
To the left, caught like a deer in a headlight, stood a young shinobi, no older than twelve, froze to the spot as the sun glistened off his reflective armor. Sasuke feels the Shikamaru cast his shadow jutsu and quickly descends upon the kid. Before he or the shadow could grasp the kid, he suddenly disappeared. Frustrated Sasuke bangs his fist down on the desk the kid was standing before. Shikamaru sighs before walking over to investigate.  
“At this rate, we're screwed.” Mumbles Sasuke irate.  
“Mmmm.” Is all Shikamaru hums as he taps his foot around the spot the kid had stood?

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the shadow user and reminded himself that punching the smartass was only a temporary fix to his overall problem. So instead he clenches his fist before rubbing his face tiredly.

“We need to hurry and find the others.” He urges the Shadow user. “That storm is fast approaching.”

Shikamaru nods his head before finally squatting down and peering at the space between the desk’s wall. Slowly he takes his hand, begins to run it along the smooth wood floors.

“Not to mention every day without a cure, we risk Sakura succumbing to the poison.” He bits out as his agitation grows like a ball between his shoulder blades. 

Sasuke sighs as Shikamaru thoroughly ignores him and continues with his weird investigation. Sasuke pinches the bridge of his nose before gently massaging it. This guy was going to be the death of him, he determined. Sasuke didn’t quite feel like himself today. From the time they left the sand village to the moment they entered the abandon one, he felt…. off.   
To him, it felt like a weight got placed on his chest. It stubbornly refused to lift off of it. Sure, he could understand the stress of his closest friend close to death, being a good cause of the issue, yet the more the pain persisted, the more irritable he became. Plus, he was anxious to get back to Sakura and Karen. Though the thought of both women having the same amount of importance to him seem…. strange. His head constricted tightly with pain. He grits his teeth and rubs away at his temple.

“Seriously what are you doing.” He lashes out at Shikamaru. The Nara man’s face lights up like a Christmas tree in the dark. 

“I found it.” He grins before pressing a button. There is a subtle click before a trap door before Shikamaru gives away to an empty black fall.

“Ready to chase the rabbit down the hole?” The Nara man challenges. Sasuke grins like the devil he is.   
“Just my cup of tea.” He mutters before jumping into the hole.

Ino’s heart pounded loudly in her ear. Faintly she could hear the huffs of Naruto. He ran like a bat out of hell in front of her. The darkness surrounding hinder any vision, which Ino was slightly grateful for considering the people following them. Out of nowhere, her nose suddenly slams into a large warm shoulder blade. Ino hisses in pain before stumbling back a bit.

“The hell Naruto.” She hisses, rubbing her sore nose.

“Do you feel that,” Naruto asks. Ino sighs but concentrates on her surroundings. All she could get from it was silence and a light breeze.

“That’s weird.” She mumbles. She feels him nodding in front of her then quickly takes off. Ino grits her teeth and takes off after him. With every foot, they went the breeze became stronger and stronger till eventually, it was a steady stream all around them.  
Naruto comes to a stop, and Ino stops an inch of running into him again.

“it’s a dead-end Ino.” He remarks solemnly.

Ino pushes the blonde back and stretches her hands out before her. Her hands connect to a smooth wall that has accidental bumps blemishing the otherwise flat service.

“Maybe, “Ino begins as she presses the random bumps. Her finger touches hard and gives away as one of the notches push inward — a loud click echoed in the tight space. Moments pass, but nothing happens to the disappointment of the two shinobi.

“See told you it was a dead-end,” Naruto states mildly. Ino rolls her,

“Shut u- “There’s a loud whoosh as the floor gives, dropping the two ninjas into the dark Abyss. 

Their startled scream echoes like a haunting call as they fall without grace. The two blondes fall for what felt like an entirety until suddenly they hit hard, warm earth. Naruto softens Ino blow as she lands right on top of his limp body.

There is a loud “Oofffofff.” By Naruto followed by a groan from Ino as his pointy joints jab into her.   
“Jesus Naruto,” whines Ino, “would it kill ya to put more meat on your bones?”

She rolls off the long limb man and offers a helping hand. Naruto takes the hand but remarks, “That’s rich. I was going to ask if you could lose a few pounds before landing on me again.”

Ino jerks back insulted, causing Naruto to fall onto his butt. Her shock is temporary as anger quickly engulfs her. She raises her fist threating over the idiot's head.

“take that back you mongrel!” She demands outraged.

Naruto rolls his eyes before crossing his arms over his chest. “Pfft, whatever cow.”

Ino’s brow twitches dangerously. “why you lil- “

Her angry triad gets cut short as warm hands encircle her waist and pull her tight against a solid chest. Before she could even process the action, she feels the cold bite of a sharp knife at her throat. In front of her, Naruto looks up in shock then proceeds to scramble to his feet.   
Dread fills Ino’s belly; however, as more ninja begin to appear around the man. Their eyes briefly meet in a mutual understanding. Naruto drops his stance and meets the eyes of her perpetrator. 

“What do you want.” He demands in a loud authoritative voice. The kind that sends shivers down Ino’s back as she recalls his hidden demon.

Ino feels a deep rumble shake her from the man behind her. “I already have what I want.” Came a deep throaty voice. 

Naruto’s eyes narrow at those words his hands becoming clenched at his side. All around him shinobi step closer with drawn weapons, waiting for the cue from the man behind Ino.  
Ino swallows slightly and flinches as the blade cuts lightly into her soft skin. Naruto slightly adjusts his body toward the nearest ninja.

“Is that right. “Naruto states keeping his eye on the knife at Ino’s throat. “Seems like there is more to it than that.” 

The hand at Ino’s waist slowly creeps up toward her breast. Ino instinctively tries to jerk away but ends up causing the blade to cut more rooted in her throat. She hisses in pain as Naruto’s hand inches toward his kunai.

“Leave her alone!” He bellows, his eyes flashing red momentarily.   
The man behind Ino snorts into her hair. “Catch us if you can, brat.” He chuckles. To the horror of Ino, they suddenly poof out in a cloud of smoke. The image of Naruto charging them would be the last thing she remembers with fondness. 

Sasuke hears the soft thud of feet behind him. Slowly he begins to survey the area they landed on. The cave was dimly lit up by some torches that lined a rocky wall. Behind him, Shikamaru lets out a grunt as he stands up.

“Which way now mad hatter.” He mutters while dusting off his suit. Sasuke rolls his eyes,

“Good question,” Sasuke mutters taking in both clear directions. 

His gut told him to go right so quietly he follows with Shikamaru sighing behind him.   
Awhile passes before the sounds of a fight began to echo to them. Both shinobi shared a concerned look before making a mad dash toward the loud noise. The clashing of metal becomes deafening as the narrow hallway gives way to a sizeable cave-like area. Immediately Sasuke notes Naruto locked into hand to hand combat with a taller ninja. From the far side, another gets up from the ground and charges Naruto. 

“Sasuke!” stresses Shikamaru as he deflects an oncoming ninja star.   
Sasuke nods in understanding and races over to defend an overwhelmed Naruto. Shikamaru lets out a hiss as needle skims the side of his cheek. He jumps aside as massive fist comes barreling out of nowhere toward his face. The big balled-up fist connects with the wall behind him, causing the cave to shake slightly. Shikamaru eyes glance up and note the shaky spears hanging above. 

“Come on, little man, let’s play.” Says the ginormous man before Shikamaru.  
The man dressed in a similar suite to Shikamaru’s except it continuously changed colors as the man moved from spot to spot. Shikamaru grimaces as he dodges another massive fist aimed toward his stomach. He knew the man was strong but lucky for Shikamaru he was slow.

“Alright, Dumbo let’s do this.” Shikamaru grins as he maneuvers the massive man to a corner.   
He braces his feet and charges the bumbling idiot. The man laughs at the little fool's attempt at a head-on attack. Low to his knowledge, the small corner vibrated loudly from his voice. Shikamaru gets within striking distance of the man and just as he swings, Shikamaru forces chakra into his feet and jump up toward the wall above the ninja’s head. He quickly places a paper bomb on the wall before pushing with all his might of the wall. Before the giant man could make heads of Shikamaru’s tactic, the wall explodes, causing the spears above to crash down into the small corner.  
Shikamaru lands on his knees with a thud as the sound of the explosion echoes in the cave. The dust quickly settles, and Shikamaru slowly gets to his feet. He wickedly smiles as he assures himself the falling debris has crushed his opponent. From behind him, he hears the screams of a man terrorized by demons. He turns around to see Sasuke penetrating the mind of one the last remaining enemies.

“Anything useful?” He calls as he approaches the trio.

Sasuke’s stoic face twists in disgust as he lets the faint man fall to the ground. Suddenly it dawned on Shikamaru something was missing. His heart starts to race as his eyes began to search the remnants of their battles. 

“Where’s Ino!?” He states. Panic rose in his chest like a wildfire, threating to consume him.

“They have her,” Naruto replies quietly. Shikamaru’s heart stopped for a second before it kicks started causing his entire body to begin to shake. A reliable hand clasps his shoulder.

“It’s okay Shikamaru; I know where to find her and our plant.” Assures Sasuke.

They share a passionate look before nodding in a silent agreement. Shikamaru takes a deep breath and steadies his nerves. “Alright. Let’s move out.” He declares.

*Trigger Alert*  
Ino knew her chances of escape were slim, even more so because the man her held her hostage was twice her size and super friendly with his knife. However, of all her training and sultry ways, she was in no way prepared for what this cruel man had in store for her. Shortly after he transported them from the cave, he brings them to a brick room that holds a bed with a lengthy post on its corners.   
“Now it’s just us my lovely “he purrs with delicate sweetness into her ear.   
He pushes her suddenly away from him, causing her to stumble forward. Terror rises in Ino’s belly as her hand reach out to stabilize her shifting world. Just as she straightens, he spins her around to face him.   
The man was tall, at least a foot taller than her. He was bald with multiple hideous scars marring his square face. It was his narrow black eyes that sent shivers of fear down Ino’s back. He smiles at her obvious disgust of him and grabs ahold of her face.

“Don’t be scared; it won’t hurt…. for too long.” He smiles, showing rows of sharpened teeth with a metal cap at the tips. 

Ino’s gut twist as she jerks her head away from the man’s meaty fingers.   
She summons on her strength and jars her knees up into his crotch. The man lets out a howl of pain as he drops to the floor. Ino’s heart starts to thump as she dashes for the door wildly. Her hand claps the cold knob and quickly throws the door open. However, another tall figure blocks her exit. She stumbles back in surprise at the man before her. He was average looking with long curly hair falling over a pair of glasses on his otherwise average-looking face.

“Tisk Tisk.” He mumbles as he eyes Ino up and down. “We can’t be having that, now can we.”

Ino braces herself for a fight except she is made immobile as a pair of secure arms wrap around her chest. She lets out a startled scream and begins to buck against her attacker.  
In her ear, the ugly man hisses, “You’re going to pay for that you little bitch.”  
“Now, now, Izuma.” Says the average man. He pulls a long needle from his suite and quickly sticks it into Ino’s neck. “Let’s make the most of the newest prey.”  
Ino screams out as the man’s strange liquid jets into her body. At first, all she feels is the sting of the injection, but then suddenly her body goes limp as all the fight leaves her body.

“There, that’s better.” Claims the average man as the Kunoichi becomes still.   
Her head lolls to the side as she eyes the man with barely contained panic.   
He softly cresses her pale face, “Don’t worry love, you’ll still feel all the wonderful things were about to do.”  
Ino felt as if she were drowning. All she could do was take shallow breaths while a massive force suppressed her entire body. No matter how much she commanded her body, she couldn’t force herself to fight back as the ninja began to undress her. She tried desperately to form her hand into a fist to slam into the face of the ugly bastard who drooled over her ivory skin. But no, she was utterly incapable of moving, she could only see and hear the bizarre things these bastards intended to do to her.  
Above her, the ugly fucker slowly ran his meaty paws up to her naked thighs. “So soft, “he coos.   
He stops inches from her smooth mound. He withdraws a sleek knife and looks up above Ino’s head.   
“Can I?” He pleads to the average man.   
Ino hears the slight nod of agreement right before she feels fire engulf her body as the ugly fucker begins to carve out a slice of her thigh. Her eyes widen in terror, yet no scream bubbles from her gaping lips.

Above her, the average man chuckles before approaching her line of sight. “Seems the serum a bit overdone.” He sighs. “Oh well, might as well make the most of it.”

He unbuttons his trousers and pulls out his semi-hard cock. Ino screams but not a word peeps from her lips as the average man approaches her face. He forces his dick into her mouth and begins to fuck it roughly. Below the ugly fuck pushes her legs apart and settles himself between them. He slams his thick cock into her and pounds fast and hard into her small frame while simultaneously slicing her stomach.  
The whole while Ino screams and cries internally for it all to stop. She shrieks for her body to cooperate and fight back and murder these filthy bastards. As the abuse continues, Ino finds her mind slip into a dark space where she no longer starts to feel the offensive onslaught of her body. Even as the average man begins to slap her face and brutally twist her nipple, she makes no eye contact. Instead, her eyes glaze over as she stares up at the ceiling above.  
*End of trigger*


	19. Caught up In the Middle

Karin huffs as she skips from place to place around the village. After the morning's run-in with that insufferable man Yamato, she couldn’t help but be paranoid. For all, Karin knew the town could be on to her maleficent plans. Finally, she surmises her travels safe and settles walking down a deserted alley near the Hokage’s tower. There is light poof noise behind her causing her to freeze then quickly react as she slices her hand knife around her. A firm hand catches her wrist. She looks up and snorts at the covered face framed by white hair.

“So he sends his lackey to check up on me?” She pouts, withdrawing her weapon into the folds of her gown. 

Those eerie purple orbs remain dull and uninterested as he removes the fabric from his mouth.

“Lord Orochimaru is getting impatient Karen.” His voice is like cold steel after being pressed into a sharp point. 

Karen shudders but lefts her chin up in defiance.  
“yeah well, that makes two of us. You guys sent me some defective ninja; they couldn’t even finish their assignment!” She bellows beneath her breath.

Her eyes scan their surrounding, ensuring no one overheard their conversation.  
The man before her task as He crowds her to the nearest wall. 

“Time is of the essence; we need those scrolls soon!” He demands in a harsh voice. 

Karin winces but promptly pushes him back; the idiot stumbles before glaring at her with all the venom he could muster.

“Listen here brat; You don’t like my success so far then feel free to run around these sickening assholes and let's see how far you’ll get!” She hisses.

The man chuckles humorlessly. “Poor Karin, all knocked up and having to play the blushing bride with good ol’ Sasuke. Isn't this always what you wanted though.” He teases with a nasty toothy grin.

Karin narrows her eyes to slits as she spits at the man’s feet. “Are we done here? I’ve had a tail as of lately. It's not safe for you to be here.”

She goes to walk away but is stop roughly by his hands around her upper around. He squeezes hard enough for the pain to shoot up her arm, but she grits her teeth, refusing to let him see her hurt.

“Soon.” He whispers roughly in her ear. “he wants results and the scrolls soon, or else your mine again.”

He sinks those large canines into her shoulder, making her scream out in pain. She drops to her knees as he vanishes, leaving her jelly-like legs to support her large frame. Weak she falls, tears seeping from her wide eyes. Slowly she brings a hand to her neck and begins to heal it.

Karin could pretend all she wants that this was all that she ever wanted. The man of her dreams loving her unconditionally and providing for her and her unwanted child. Life wasn’t so kind to her. No matter how many times she woke trying to think otherwise. She was a reluctant follower for the horrid Orochimaru and a fuck toy for his horrible henchmen, Suigetsu.  
She had thought she had run far enough from his reach, but she had been so wrong. They had hunted her down and originally kidnap her for her abilities but Suigetsu had other plans for her. Every night he would come to her and forcefully take her until suddenly she had become pregnant. The moment she found out she began to a plan to withdraw from their clutches. Part of it had been gaining their trust then seeking out Sasuke as Orchimaru came up with his latest cracked idea. It was only to easy to sway the man under her medical experience yet as the endgame becomes close, she wonders if she made the right moves. As her tiny bean kicks roughly in her stomach, she decided no, this wasn’t a mistake. Once the deeds were done, she would be on the run, but her child would be safe from the horrible world Orchimaru and Suigetsu. In the end, that was all that matter to Karen. Regardless of who she had to step on to get there.

The night hung heavy with budding rain and severe weather. The humidity had the young and old out in a nervous energy budding upon the encroaching storm. Two Shinobi dress up for a night out agreeing previously to meet up at the current hot spot on the district side of town where all the bars are currently station. To the left, we had a suttle Genma dressed in a silky black shirt and loose pants while to the right we had a more practical Yamato who stuck with his tight grey tank top and shorts. Together they approach the large crowd outside the bar street.  
“So does this mean you're going to take my advice?” Comments Genma as they walk on.  
Yamato can only give him a pointed look before countering, “depends, are you going to take your advice for a change?”  
Genma snorts but grows silent as the two make their way into the loud crowed place. The two make quick work of their tall thirsty order. In no time Genma found himself whisked away by some entirely familiar blonde while Yamato found himself in the company of a drunk Kiba and bemused Kurenai.

“I still don’t see WHY she had to marry THAT idiot.” Whines Kiba as he downs another shot.

Kurenai rolls her eyes but pays him no attention, “ So Yamato, what brings you out these days?” She calls over the mutts head. 

Yamato shrugs as he takes a swig of his beer, “The Hokage’s put me on hold until I quote ‘release some unwanted tension.’ Thus here I am. “

He waves his arm above his head, followed by a charming smile to Kurenai who chuckles with amusement. 

“That’s funny he told me the same thing.” She shares while tilting her bottle to him.

“Cheers, to the overworked and overstressed shinobi.” Calls Yamato as he clinks his bottle with hers over Kiba’s head. 

Kiba groans before stumbling up, “I’ma go find me a nice lady for the night. Later Cap.” He hiccups before patting Kurenai on the shoulder and leaving.  
Yamato watches the Canine user as he wanders out of the bar.   
He scoots closer to a bemused Kurenai and asks, “ Is he going to be okay?”

She shakes her head, “He’s been head over heels for Hinata since they all hit puberty, but the girl only had eyes for the idiot blonde.”

Yamato snorts with amusement as remembers thick-headed the boy had been growing up.

“Hard to believe they've grown so fast.” He muses as his thoughts stray to Sakura. Kurenai shakes her head in agreement before finishing her beer.

“So, enough reminiscing you want to dance?” Kurenai asks, leaning provocatively toward him.

Yamato takes a big swig of his drink as he checks the Kunuochi out. She wore a tight red dress that hugged every curve of her fully matured body. Yamato’s pants become suddenly tense as his eyes delved down to deep canvas of cleavage. He swallows the thickness in his throat as she chuckles and pulls him away from the bar. Yamato drunkenly follows as his mind steers toward other thoughts.

Meanwhile, Genma finds himself the center of the party yet again. For years he had done a sport of riling up all the pretty women in town and then having his way whomever he wanted. To his ever delight, he had always had a fresh batch to pick from every year though he did have guidelines. Such as no crazies, no clingers, no weepers, no overly promiscuous, and finally a newly added one no blondes.  
All in all, he was quite charming when he put himself out there. Hell, he could remember a partner who had said otherwise or was unsatisfied when he after he had his way with them. As he danced circles with the gaggle of beautiful women, his mind couldn’t help but wonder to a light body blessed with thick long blonde hair. A girl shouts something in his ear, pulling him from thought.

“yeah,” He hollers back, unsure of her intent. 

She suddenly grabs his hand and starts to pull him away from the group. Genma Takes a moment to tick off his list as he checks her out. The chick was thick like a ham with tan skin, long nails, and mid-length baby blue hair. Genma sighs with relief and happily follows the luscious vixen toward the exit of the bar.  
Curiously he looks back and quickly scans the tight place for His buddy. His eyes light up as he sees the tall, lanky man grinds up against the lovely Kurenai. Genma chuckles to himself as recalls his run-in with the curious woman. All in all, for a rebound/booty call, she was perfect. She was a no strings attached kind of girl who seldom played the field due to her munchkin at home. Genma smiles stupidly to himself as he and his date run off into the night.

Yamato didn’t know if it was the alcohol or the room warm, but he felt loose and entirely out of himself as he dances the night away with the curvy Kurenai. Eventually, they swept off the dance floor and headed back the bar where they kept their arms entangled within each other.

“You're not a bad dancer.” Kurenai giggles as she gazes up at him, threw her long thick lashes.   
Yamato grins as he orders them another rounds of drinks.

“You're not so bad yourself.” He complements as his hands fall to her full hips. Kurenai’s face blushes, but she doesn’t push his hand away.

They carry on with small talk about various missions and such until finally, the bartender calls for the last round. The two Shinobi finish up their drinks before exiting the bar.  
“Can I walk you home?” Ask Yamato with a big grin.  
Kurenai rolls her eyes but nods and wraps herself around his arms. Together they stroll the humid night in silence as they both become lost in thought. Eventually, they make it to her door, and sense of deja vu overcomes Yamato.

Kurenai notices his sudden hesitant, “ Are you okay?” She asks worriedly checking his red, warm face.

He grasps her wrist and slowly pulls them from his face.   
“I’m fine,” he assures her with a charming smile. 

Kurenai becomes dumbstruck for a moment as she drinks n the features of his handsome face. Suddenly she pulls out from his grasp and presses her lips into his as her arms throw themselves around his neck. She pushes her womanly figure into his broad chest, enticing him to take control of the situation.   
Yamato’s mind goes blank the moment their lips press together. He feels all her curves press into him, causing a flood of heat to rush to his groin. Losing the battle, he groans into her mouth before finally caving and snaking his arm around her full form.  
Outside, a lone woman makes her way home after a long day of errand running when she comes across the very intimate scene. A mean smile graces her face as she recognizes the familiar faces. She chuckles to herself while absentmindedly rubbing her budding stomach. She may have wished initially the pink Kuniochi dead, given Karin’s deep jealousy streak. But if she lives, the woman could find new ways to make the girl suffer even more so. Perhaps the minion's mission wasn’t a total failure after all. Plus with Sasuke currently absent, she was able to set up extra details around the tower under the radar. Karin chuckles softly to herself as the couple takes their heated exchange inside the cozy-looking home.

Across town Genma finds himself entranced by the woman who was the epitome of seduction. He watches in a lustful haze as she slowly starts to peel her scant lingerie off her beautiful body. In the background, some slow music complimented her movement as she sways lightly with the beat.  
Genma groan as his eyes devours the smooth flesh of the curvy woman before him. His eyes trace the muscles beneath her skin as she lowers herself to her hands and knees before him. His legs shift as she moans while simultaneously crawl toward him with deep red sultry eyes.  
Deep in the back of Genma’s mind, all he could see before him was a slender, blonde, lith body shimming before him in such a sultry manner. Genma shakes his head to gain clarity but that blonde whirls around in his head making him recall the soft, velvety feel of her pale skin and the flex of her new muscles as they wrap around him in a tight grasp. However, when she spoke, it wasn’t her voice enchanting his erotic fantasy.  
The voice was to thick with pinning to be the bold vixen that he craved. Finally, he snaps back to reality as disappointment dosed him wide awake. The thick girl from before was currently in his lap half-naked, meowing about how bad she wanted his cock inside of her. Genma gently pulls the horny woman from his ear and sighs sadly. 

“Perhaps another time, yeah?” He removes the shocked woman from his lap and promptly leaves the dark apartment. 

Genma flaccid penis became a disturbing reminder that although he didn’t believe in relationships, he did crave the touch of the only woman. And unfortunately, he was doomed to wait for a return to the village. Just one more time, he assures himself as he walks down the dark alleys. One more time, to taste that supple flesh of hers, he promised himself like an addict.  
But fuck it, if he was going to miserable than surely misery would love company. Without a second thought, he makes his way to Yamato’s home. However, as he knocks on the dark door, he wanders just precisely what is his dear friend up too. His mind flashes to the bar where Yamato and Kurenai flirted unabashedly. Genma laughs and groans as he decides to take his misery home for the night.  
Just as he turns to step away from a large poof cloud suddenly appears. Out reflexes, Genma goes straight into a defensive stance. He eases up as the dust disperses and a winded Med Nin appears.

“I-i-i-ss—ss-ss Captain Yamato here.” The Med Nin huffs as they double over to catch their breath.

A feeling of uneasiness settles into Genma’s shoulders as he falls into a more relaxed stance.

“Report stats now!” he demands. Dread fills his belly like sour milk in the summer.

“It’s Lady Haruno.” The med Nin stands tall, a look of determination settling on her face.

“She’s taken a turn for the worst.”   
Genma nods solemnly. “well, he’s not here, but I’ll follow you back.” He decided.

Afterall if the night ended badly, his friend would never forgive himself for finally relaxing for a change. With a mutual nod, the two shinobi take off toward the hospital.


	20. Hold On

A million worse case scenarios ran through Shikamaru’s head as they dashed through various tunnels and caves. At the worst he would have to burry yet another of his beloved teammates, the mere idea causes his heart to constrict painfully.no, he told himself calmly, Ino is a strong woman. She’ll be fine, if not triumph, he assures himself.

Eventually, the rocky tunnels give way to brick walls and steel floors. The torches eventually turn into luminescent lights that harshly glare above them. Sasuke slides to a sudden stop causing the other ninja to pauses as well. The boys then had to face a looming decision. To the right, a large metal door beckons like a neon sign. On the left multiple entries stretch down yet another long corridor. 

“Whats up Sasuke?” Inquires Naruto.

“She’s in the fifth room to the right. “ Sasuke states solemnly. 

Shikamaru nods and starts that way. However, Sasuke grabs his wrist tightly, preventing him from continuing.

“What gives,” Shikamaru demands while snatching his arm away.

“Go with Naruto through the door and recover the plant,” Sasuke says softly. 

Their eyes briefly meet. At that moment Shikamaru knew that whatever lay in wait for Ino was something horrid enough to cause pitty in the almighty Uchahi man. Shikamaru’s gut twists painfully at the thought, but he agrees to the man terms never the less.

“Just make sure she’s okay.” He pleads before dashing off with Naruto hot on his heels.

Sasuke takes a deep breath to prepare himself for what was to come. Earlier when he had interrogated the young shinobi, he caught a glimpse of the horrible things this sector of men had done to lone woman unfortunate enough to get caught by them. By the shadow users reaction to the absences of their fellow female shinobi, Sasuke knew he had to be the one to recover Ino, Especially after seeing the images from the bastard shinobi. Sasuke shakes the thoughts from his mind and sets out to his task. 

He quickly makes it to the door and promptly kicks it in. There's a loud bang as the door splinters open, except to Sasuke's displeasure there is no enemy shinobi in the room. However, as he enters the room, he notes a bloody lump on the bed in the place. Slowly he approaches the bed and rolls the figure toward him. 

He pushes the messy blonde hair from the face and grimaces at the hollow eyes that stare back at him. He places his fingers at Ino's throat and prays for a heartbeat. A moment passes, and he feels a faint beat. He lets out the breath he had been holding and set out to wrap her bleeding wounds. One by one, he treats each of her injuries and wraps them carefully as he could. However, the cuts made at her thighs proved too deep to pack appropriately. Sasuke curses softly before slowly grasping her face. “Ino…” he calls. Her hallow eyes make no movement causing Sasuke to panic slightly. He taps her face lightly, trying to snap her out of it.

“Ino, please snap out of it.” He begs uncharacteristically. Again her eyes do not move with acknowledgment.

He lets go of her face and double-checks his pack for a needle and thread. To his good fortune, he finds just that. Quickly he sews up her gapping thigh wounds to the best of his ability then proceeds to wrap her up in his cloak. Before he continues to put Ino onto his back, he tries once more to pull her from the depths of her mind.

He taps her face repetitively and snaps his fingers in her ears to cause some reactions from her. When that failed, he decides to infiltrate her mind the only way he knows how. He stands back then closes his eyes and pulls forth his chakra. When reopens his eyes, he makes eye contact with Ino and quickly gets lost in the swirl of her irises. 

As if in slow motion, the world comes back into focus, except they were no longer in a brick room. Instead, Sasuke finds himself in a dark room with a lone candle lite up in a corner. Next, to the candle, he sees a small naked Ino rocking back and forth. Her arms are cradling her knees into her chest as if her life depended on it. Slowly he approaches her, ever cautious not to spook the frightened girl.

“Ino are you there.” He calls with his most gentle voice. The little 

Ino’s head shoots up with eyes as round as saucers filled with terror.

“Please. Stop. Make it stop!” She cries hysterically. Sasuke shows the terrified girl his hands as he kneels before her.

“Sssshhh.” He soothes, “It’s over now.”

Tears spill from her child-like eyes, “You're just saying that.” She bellows

Sasuke’s heart constricts for the girl. He could only imagine the horror she went threw to suffer such a break in her mind.

“I promise you Ino. Your safe now.” He states boldly. The little 

Ino blinks away the tears as she looks up to the handsome man before her.

“Those eyes.” She whispers as she meets his gaze, “ I know those eyes.”

He nods at the young girl. “we’re friends. Remember?”

Her head cocks to the side before the realization dawns on her, “ Sasuke!” She calls cheerfully.

He smiles, fondly at the little Ino. “Yeah, it’s me, Ino.”

Her bright faces suddenly darken, “ Sasuke…they…they….”

“Sssssshhhhh.” He rests his hand, reassuringly on her shoulder. 

“it’s okay Ino; I’m here now, you have nothing to worry about.”

Tears fill her eyes again as she shakes her head in agreement. Sasuke sighs heavily.

“Ino, can you wake up for me?” he asks hesitantly. Little Ino shudders in fear before tucking her face away in her arms.

“I cant. Those men will hurt me.” Came her muffled voice.

“Not as long as I’m here. I give you my word.” Sasuke declares as feelings of protectiveness overcome him. Ino’s little head peeks over her arm and slowly nods in agreement.

She lifts her head and meets his gaze once more, “ Ok. I’ll wake us up.” She states weakly.  
Sasuke nods with a sigh. “But,” she says quickly, “ We can't move. Not until the serum wears off.” 

The light blows out, and Sasuke is transported back into the brick room. He looks back to Ino and notes her eyes rapidly blinking. He kneels to her eye levels then proceeds to brush back her stray hairs. He notes her eyes narrow venomously and quickly puts his hand down.

“Ino can you hear me?” He asks.  
She blinks once in response.  
He nods, “ Can you speak?” she blinks twice.  
“Can you move?” She blinks twice again.   
He nods in understanding. “Ino, I’m going to put you on my back. We have to meet up with the others.” She blinks once in response.

As careful as he could Sasuke hoist the Kuniouchi onto his back and proceeds to leave the evil room.

The pair rush off toward the others. Sasuke notes the nig metal door tore to bits followed by the echoing calls of the battle between shinobi. Careful to stay among the shadows, Sasuke secures a place to put an immobile Ino. Her wide eyes alert him of her possible terror. He cups her cheek lightly.

“I’ll be back for you Ino.” He assures her and silently places a sharp Kuni in her limp hand.   
They share one last fierce look before he jets off. Sasuke backtracks to the gapping opening before heading straight into battle. 

From his entrance, he could spot Shikamaru combating two average Shiobi while Naruto charismatically took on the biggest ugly fucker he could find. Absentmindedly Sasuke took note of the various hydro plant systems around the place. If they weren’t careful, they could potentially destroy Sakura’s saving grace. 

Sasuke winces as Naruto kicks the bull of a shinobi into one hydro system. The hair on the back of Sasuke’s neck rises unexpectedly. He swivels around and draws up his sword just as a knife reflects off the shimmering metal. His eyes quickly narrow on his victim and quickly snaps like a snap.

Shikamaru sighs with relief as he catches a glimpse of Sasuke entering the mix. That must mean she is safe. His mind assured him. He dodges left and flips back as his opponents attempt to corner him, Shikamaru grits his teeth in annoyance. That damn fox never sticks to a plan, but he does have a lot of heart. Shikamaru throws a smoke bomb and attempts to readjust his placement in this fight. However, as the billowing smoke rises around him, someone else restricts him from behind. Shikamaru lets out a frustrated cry as someone forces him to his knees while drawing up his arms at a sharp angle. The smoke disperses, and he grimaces a look out onto the battlefield. Naruto’s brought to a halt as their eyes meet unexpectedly. A sizeable meaty fist catches him unaware, thus knocking him across the room. From the other side, Sasuke twists the neck of his opponent before letting the man drop like garbage from his hands.

“Let him go,” Sasuke states in that cold chilling tone.

The Shinobi behind him chuckles as he twists Shikamaru’s arm again. Shikamaru bites down on his lip to keep from crying out.

“Well, looks like you’re the cocky one of the group,” The man mocks Sasuke, “Are you the one, who had first dibs on the Kuniouchi?”

Shikamaru’s gut twisted like a knife had plunged hilt deep into it. His eyes find Sasuke barely containing his fury. A shiver runs down Shikamaru’s back in both worry and prediction, knowing well the extent Sasuke was willing to go to relinquish such feelings.

“You have till the count of three..” Sasuke said through clenched teeth.

“Now, Now, behave you little shit” The man snarled as he pressed a sharp, cold tip to Shikamaru’s neck. Sasuke’ pauses as he notes Shikamaru’s sudden discomfort. 

The fat bastard laughs like an idiot before suddenly charging Sasuke after the man gives a tight nod. Sasuke’s eyes narrow to slits his hand fly so fast threw hand sigils, Shikamaru’s eyes couldn’t keep up. Suddenly one look at he barging bull and the idiot stops dead in tracks before letting out a blood curling scream. The bulky man drops to his knees to wither in agony.

“ONE.” Sasuke bellows.

Shikamaru could feel the man behind him grow tense.

“You two restrain the kid!” he calls, his voice tight with worry. 

Like lambs to the slaughter, the young shinobi tag team Sasuke. Although the two were quite skilled, they were no match for the superior Shinobi. From the floor, Naruto let out a groan as he awakes from his knock out.

“TWO,” Sasuke calls as he slits the throat of the last shinobi. 

Shikamaru shivered at the man’s lack of utter conscious as he disposed of his opponents. Thank god, he’s on our side; he murmured to himself. Shikamaru grits his teeth as the man behind him yank him up to his feet. His arms stay twisted into a firm hold as the cold steel kisses his throat. One sharp breath and he would be slit open like a pinata. 

“Come any closer, and the muttering brat gets it.” The man shouts.

“Who are you and what is this place.” Calls Naruto as He joins Sasuke.

The man behind him sneers, “ Wouldn’t you bunch like to know.”

Slowly Shikamaru could feel the man walk backward toward something. Keep him talking, Shikamaru thought, as he planned an escape.

“You leaf are so nosey. This research took YEARS to develop.” The man hissed with disdain. 

Suddenly the man stops, dropping his guard some as his eyes narrow at Sasuke.

He sneers, “She would just be devasted to know that YOU of all people will be destroying all of our years of hard work.”

Sasuke pauses for a moment unsure of himself as the man laughs maniacally before pressing a button. A shrilling alarm goes off just as Shikamaru elbows the bastard in his gut. As the man flinches away, Shikamaru rolls out of his grasp and immediately draws his knife. The man coughs as he holds his stomach. 

A manic gleam lite his eyes as a monotone loud voice booms, “ Four minutes till self destruct sequence.”

“Lady K won't stand for this!” The man warns.

“Three.” Calls Sasuke with a smirk. Everyone eyes Sasuke oddly before a sharp hiss of metal across flesh brings Shikamaru’s attention back to his opponent. 

The average looking man gasps like fish out of the water as he claws at his slit throat. Confused, Shikamaru watches as the man falls to his knees. Behind him, a trembling Ino wrapped in nothing but a thin cape screams in agony. 

The furious Kuniouchi slams the kunai repeatedly into the gapping bastard until the limp, dead body falls with a thud to the dirt. Even still, the mad Kuniouchi falls to her knees as blood and tears coat her horrified face. Eventually, she ceases to stab the fool if only because the sobs racking her frame prevented from much else.

That’s when it all clicked to Shikamaru. Sasuke’s reluctance to let him go after her. The man’s ominous words, the cold fury that engulfed Sasuke and Ino’s horrified face. He could physically feel his heartbreak for her. 

He reaches to comfort her out of habit. His eyes absorb her flinching away from his touch. He quickly retracted his hand as he forces a gulp down his throat. Behind him, the two Shinobi rush them. 

“Come, guys, we got to get out of here.” Naruto urges. Shikamaru nods his head tightly.

 

“Ino, can you walk?” He asks of the Kunoichi. She nods her head in a weakly no.

“I’ll carry her.” Naruto states before reaching for her. Ino hisses as she jerks away from the blonde man. Naruto quickly covers up his sudden shock and hurt as Sasuke steps toward the Kunoichi. 

“I’ll grab her; you guys retrieve the plant.” Sasuke insists. 

Shikamaru watches mystified as Ino allows him to pick her up. His heart constricts in pain as he watches her burry into the Uchiha for comfort. A firm hand pulls him back to action. Together the two collect enough of their desired plants before making a mad dash out of the cave.

Lucky for them the long caravan gave way to an old sewer system beneath the city, which allowed them safe passage threw most of the town. Eventually, by the time they made it up to the surface, the sand storm was nearly upon them.

“Do we have time!?” Shikamaru shouts above the howling of the wind. 

Sasuke nods before calling for His giant bird. The group of exhausted ninja hops upon the bird before taking off toward the sand village. Below the town implodes upon itself as the bomb finally detonates fro the caves. The team watches as the firey show gets eats up by the approaching sand storm.

“Why didn’t we do this the first time around,” Naruto mutters as he sprawls out on the sizeable winged beast.  
Sasuke grunts as sit Ino down and plopping next to her.

“Not all of us have expendable chakra,” Sasuke states matter of factly.

Shikamaru sighed as the wind around them cool the sweat building at his temple and lower back. He places the vital plants down next to him as he sat across from the bunch. His eyes strayed to Ino, who cradled her knees to her chest like a frightened child. His gut churn as at the unknown characteristic of his dearest teammate. But sweet Christ how was he supposes to help her after ….His stomach lurched at the thought. He feels his fist shake with furry for the people who did this to her. Who caused her to be a shell of who she once was.

“Shikamaru,” Sasuke calls.

Shikamaru reluctantly looks over to the man. Their eyes meet in a similar furry of Ino’s state.

“They’re dead now,” Sasuke quietly states as he pats Ino’s knee softly. 

Ino turns her blank face away from them as Naruto kneels before her.   
Tears spill from the knucklehead's big eyes as he confesses, “Ino this is all my fault. I’m so sorry.”

Ino’s eyes begin to water as well as she shakes her head. Slowly she opens her arms and lets Naruto embrace her in a hug. Together with the two cries, in anger and pain for a whole lot of the situation. Admittedly the other two cried as well in their silence as they watched their teammate recover from her horror. The boys all harbored some feeling of responsibility for Ino’s unspeakable pain. As Ino relinquished all her agony in the arms of one her closest friends, she couldn’t help but feel remorse for whatever innocents she had. As she watches the blood of her enemy wash away from her hands, she feels a cold peace settling in her heart.


	21. I Need You Here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo! there is sex up in this bit. keep an eye out for the paragraph in Yamato's perspective.

It was a grey day for Lady Shino. The hospital and its usual buzz kept her busy. However, every time she came that dreaded door, the world would cease its relentless activities. She leans into the large white door and listens as silence greets her with the occasional beep of the machine hooked up to her patient. Lady Shizune’s shoulders droop as she approaches the bedside. Slowly she lifts her hand to move the pale pink bangs from the sunken face of Sakura. Whatever poison had infected her, has gradually eaten away at her vitality. Lady Shizune knew if a cure is not found soon, Sakura would be eventually fade away. A wave of slow anger builds in Shizune at the very idea. At best, she felt inferior, and at her lowest, she felt a deep sorrow to lose one of her closest comrades potentially. She sends a quick prayer up for a swift miracle.  
From the door, a soft knock pulls her from her dark thoughts.  
“Come in,” She calls softly.  
The door creaks quietly as a nurse walks in.  
“I’m sorry Lady Shizune they require your assistance in the ER.” The nurse shuffles her feet.  
Lady Shizune sighs as she feels exhaustion, wiggles its way into her shoulders.  
“I’ll be there in a minute,” She replies.   
The nurse nods before quietly exiting the room. Lady Shizune touches the pale cheek of the Kunoichi.  
“Hold on just a bit longer Sakura-chan.” She mumbles before finally leaving.

In Sakura’s mind, She recalls drinking away her misery at the local bar. Since the fated day Sasuke left her, Sakura had found herself drowning her pain at the bottom of a bottle. She would wake with hangover destined to be the last. As the days trolled on into months, she felt herself fall right back into the cycle. Wake up, drink. Stumble to work, drink. Face a hard day, a wrong argument, a moment of weakness in missing him, drink. One day amidst another blaring headache and dry mouth, she rolls out of bed straight into a pile of empty bottles.  
She remembers cursing and slowly pulling herself out of the pile. As she crawls back into her bed, shame descends upon her like gasoline to a flame. Her room served as a bad wake up call with dirty sheets, half-empty food containers, and more noticeably piles of empty bottles. Ironically, she feels her hand reaching out for the bottle posted at her bedside. She can feel her hand pull it in close like a baby’s bottle, and as she goes to lift the rim to her lips, she pauses.  
Was this it for her? Was she destined to draw her misery because the man she loved didn’t love her back? Was she not stronger than this? Was she so weak-willed that she had to have this dark liquor to keep her whole?  
Her arm starts to shake as it slowly descends downward. The throbbing in her head screams for relief as her stomach curls making her flinch in pain. That day she got up she chose to try to move on. To try to be okay. So, she poured out the bottle in the bathroom as she pukes the last of its content from her stomach. She picks her pale self-up and sets out cleaning her dingy apartment. She had moments amid being busy where sorrow would suddenly consume her. It was those moments she nearly caved to the itch in the back of her throat. Instead, she hastily pulled on some training gear and left for the fields. That was the day she had started her daily training regimen. It was also the first day she ran into Yamato.  
Before she knew each day of training turned into nearly a year. Within that year she had found a new strength in herself. She found a will to be stronger at heart. She also discovered she was soothed by deep laughter that reminder her of thunders storm. She began to admire a face that stayed as calm as the stillest oceans with depths so deep it mystified her. She only now recognized how much she came to adore Captain Yamato.  
Not just because the man is built into chiseled perfection or even smart as a whip, no, she admires the maturity in which the man carried himself every morning when they sparred. It was the very thing she felt deprived of with Sasuke. She couldn’t fathom now as she reminisced about it, why didn’t she make a move a lot sooner. She would be a fool to say she hadn’t noticed the long gazes or heated looks exchanged between them before now. Her heart always cringed away, even as her sex-deprived body begged for relief.  
From the dark depths of her mind, a vicious voice hisses, you don’t deserve happiness. Your heart is a fragile thing Sakura. One man sends you in a spiral and into the depths of alcohol. Sure, you pulled yourself out now, but what’s next? Pills? Heroin? Speed? Coke? Your one foot in and one foot out. Any closer and you’ll fall right back of that edge down into the darkness where even the biggest of distractions can’t save you. Your wickedness will consume you Sakura! Give up and now, and keep your soul. Live in this place of grey, let it mold you into a thing of muted feelings and communications. Let it be your armor where your will has dried up and died. Feel the void of nothing and let it drain from you the darkness threating to kill you.  
Foolishly the Kunoichi listens to the doubt and sadness. She packs up all these little memories of those she loves. She places then in a tiny box in her mind before finally agreeing to let it all go. And as the darkness descends upon her dim light of a soul, she begs to a higher power for forgiveness.

 

It’s late into the night in the city of Konoha when the machines in a particular hospital room begin to blare with urgency. At this point, the local nurses know which room and to which patient the devices require assistance with. They all rush into the crowded space to assist the ill patient. However, tonight proves to be more than could handle. Their patient has hit her apex of tolerance to the foreign poison and is now starting systematic organ failure. They quickly call for the doctors and various medics. Of course, Lady Shizune is first on the scene. Panic coats her studious face as she goes into hyper mode to save the patient. Finally, after hours of fighting off death from the pale Pinkett, they got her to an otherwise stable condition. However, it was only temporarily, and Shizune knew it. At best, they had 24 hours until the patient’s illness would consume her. Frustrated but otherwise defeated, Shino starts making calls out to the Hokage. As she leaves the depressing room, she summons a medic ninja for an important task.

 

Meanwhile, across the various lands and into the dunes of the sand, our favorite team of Shinobi makes it back in one piece. The moment they land the Kage and lil assistant greet them.  
“News has come from the leaf,” Gaara informs the tired pack of ninjas.  
Immediately Naruto perks up, “What gives?” the blonde croaks as he helps Ino off the giant bird.  
Gaara shuffles a bit with uneasiness. Sasuke makes a note of the movement before feeling a sense of dread fill his stomach.  
“Sakura’s health is declining rather quickly. They’re saying she may have less 24 hours.” He declares somberly.  
Utter shock silences the crew of Ninja until Ino steps forward.  
“I’ll have the cure done in two hours. Sasuke!” She twists toward the pale man.  
“Can,” She points to the giant bird, “He get us to the village in time?”  
Sasuke’s shock ebbs away as determination overcomes him. He nods his head firmly.  
Ino twists back to the Kage, “I got a list of things needed to pull out an antidote.”  
She pulls a paper out a piece of paper and hands it to him while briskly walking past him. He nods in agreement before having his assistant take care of the items.  
“She’s a force to be reckoned with.” The Kage mumbles as the Kunoichi disappears into the building.  
The trio of boys left in her wake all nod their exhausted heads accordingly.

Ino could feel her limbs shake with exertion as she leads her fine form down the various hallways. Her makeshift gown sags sadly against her, but she determined to see this through. After all, it was her best friends’ life on the very line. She turns swiftly into an angled doorway then hits a brick wall.  
“Ooof.” She expels as she stumbles back. Strong arms steady her, and immediately she notes a familiar pair of sandals in her direct line of vision.  
Her head snaps up to see Kankuro’s warm smiling face.  
“Well, hello, there, beautiful.” He winks.  
Ino pulls out of his touché, hating the flash of disappointment across his face. Its quickly covered by a charming smile as the puppet master leans against the archway.  
“I got to say; your current attire is” he pauses and lets his eyes roam her shivering body. His mood somber up quickly  
“Are you okay?” He goes to reach out for her again, and she dodges it easily.  
“I have an urgent thing; can you please move.” She mutters out while maintaining her distance.  
Confused, the man straightens up and lets the trembling Kunoichi past.  
“Thank you.” She mumbles before dashing off into the large lab.  
Kankuro feels an uneasiness settle within him. He goes to step into the lab when a hand suddenly holds him back. He jerks back, kunai raised in self-defense. Sasuke smirks but lets go of the man.  
“Leave her be.” He forewarns before pushing past and following the Kunoichi’s footsteps.  
Kankuro snorts with distaste but heeds the warning. He withdraws his weapon and seeks out his little brother.

 

Yamato could count on one hand how many times he’s felt pure ecstasy. Tonight, topped as number three. In the dark depths of the home, he could feel her long slender fingers expertly remove his shirt and unbuckle his trousers. His doesn’t fight the warming sensation building in his spine. He ignores the little voice in the back of his mind before hastily ripping open the front of Kurnai’s dress. Like a dam, her tits burst force with a bounce that his head dizzy from the sight. He lets out a low moan before cupping his large hands around her busting bosom.  
Kurnai meowls as she allows him to pin her to the nearest wall. She scrapes her nails down his bulging muscles as his lips attach to her erect nipple. Kurnai arches into his mouth as Yamato sucks tightly on her areola. He reaches up to her gaping mouth and inserts two fingers. She obeys the silent demand and star salivating heavily on his calloused fingers.  
Their little exchange goes on for a while. Yamato periodically switching tits until he feels the tightness in his boxers become nearly unbearable. He breaks from her gleaming wet chest and removes his finger from her mouth. He takes his free hand and firmly places it around Kurnai’s throat, pinning her in place to the wall. He watches her heated gaze as he makes his moist fingers and wiggles them past her soaking wet panties. His fingers slip into her hot, tight clutch with a loud, slurping sound. Kurnai lets out a heated moan as her waist starts to wiggle around his still fingers.  
“Fuck me.” She whimpers. Her hips jostle around trying to incite some friction.  
Yamato laughs without mercy as he watches the helpless Kunoichi wither with lust. He leans forward and whispers in her ear, “Like this? “He slowly with drawls his long fingers before pushing them back in forcefully. She lets out a moan and nods slightly.  
“Yes!” She pants.  
He quickly pulls out his finger, causing her pout. He rips off her little wet panties then proceeds to free his erect cock from his binding boxers. Kurnai ants slowly as her eyes eat up the sight of his gleaming cock. Yamato kisses her passionately before taking both hands around her voluptuous hips and lifting her onto his cock.  
Their loud moans echo the room ass his thick, hot cock plunges into her wet, tight cunt. They stay like that for a split moment, relishing the heat of each other in that second. Then with a grunt and push oh His hip Yamato start plowing into the tight hole roughly and wildly. Kurnai screams out in pleasure and holds on desperately as he fucks her into an earth-shattering climax.

 

As morning arches over the sleepy village of Konoha, dark clouds gather on its horizon. Slowly as the sun rays wash the lonely streets in light, the humidity begins to climb to intolerable heights. Across the many buildings and waking citizens, a fellow shinobi finds himself bearing the early morning outside the local hospital. Genma lets out a rough cough before taking another drag of his borrowed cigarette.   
The shit tasted like cheap, stale tobacco. However, Genma couldn’t complain considering he’d been at the hospital for most of the night. Admittedly he knew this was just a minor distraction for him considering his inner turmoil about a particular blonde hair Kunoichi. Still, the news he gathered tonight from Lady Shizune made him dread finding his closest pal. 24 hours. That’s all they gave the poor Pinkett. Genma shakes his head numbly before exhaling his long drag. He didn’t think Yamato would ever forgive himself if the team didn’t pull through on their promise of a cure.   
Genma takes another pull of his cigarette as he simultaneously scratches his five a clock shadow. Her passes peacefully than suffer any longer, his mind muse as the man choked out his exhale. In the distant, he hears a loud crowing of a bird. Mildly interested, he shields his eyes from the bright morning rays before looking up in curiosity.  
High above a giant Racrow like bird blocks the bright intensity of the sun before oddly circling the hospital. Genma snorts with surprise as he takes another hit of his cigarette. He lets his hand fall away as he strides back to the revolving doors. Leave it to Sasuke to make an entrance, he mused silently. Their appearance must mean they at least have a cure right, he wonders as turns on his heel. He looks back to see the ginormous bird land in the empty, vacant lot before him.

From the winged beast, a quick form jumps down with the grace of a jungle cat. The cigarette drops from Genma’s hand as he recognizes a familiar blond running toward the entrance behind him. At that moment Genma’s steady heart began to beat irradicably. His palm starts to sweat as his dick begins to stiffen. He had forgotten just how much he had missed the lethal but beautiful woman. Unfortunately, she pays him no mind as she runs full speed ahead into the bustling hospital. Genma’s heart constricts painfully put he pushes it aside as Sasuke approaches after dismissing his ginormous beast.  
“Did you get a cure?” Genma asks as he fishes out his senbon.  
He somber kid nods solemnly before striding right past him. Gena curses silently before taking off into town. He needed to find his friend and quick.


	22. Nuestra Cancion

Ino was a mess. She knew deep in her heart that after this mission, she would never be the same. The only saving grace she had was her determination to come through for her best friend. It was the only thing that kept her together as she hurries along with the work through various trials and errors to make an antidote. 

Ino vaguely recalls Sasuke fetching her some suitable clothing. Lucky for her, Sasuke managed to gather clothing that sat loosely on her thick curves and only brushes up against the more severe of her wounds. On their way over to the hospital, Sasuke made sure her injuries got retreated due to their severity. She couldn't help but bare his light and methodic touch even if it sent waves of repulsion threw her. By the time they landed early that morning, she all but leaped off that damn bird. Moreover, although she didn't blame her fellow Shinobi for her horrible encounter, she still couldn't comprehend the idea of man's flesh, touching hers, just yet.  
She also vaguely recalls the shocked and longing face of Genma that fated morning. His very presences, like a shock of cold water to Ino's delicate senses. However, she was a woman on a mission. A desperate one at that, so she pushed by the hurt Shinobi and immediately yelled for lady Shizune upon entering the busy hospital. 

The startled receptionist quickly approaches her.

"What's the state of your emergency?" She asks the sweaty blonde woman.

Ino thrust a blue vial in front of the woman's face.  
"I have the cure for Sakura Haruno!" Ino exclaims with panic.

A near-by Nurse overhears their exchange and quickly approaches the duo.  
"Did you say lady Haruno." The Nurse asks.

Ino shakes her head feverously.  
"Yes, time is of the essences, and I need to administer the cure asap!" 

The nurse and receptionist exchange a worried look. The Nurse makes the call,  
"Very well, follow me." She motions to Ino to follow her. Over her shoulder, she shouts to the receptionist, "Call for Lady Shizune!"

Ino's was tired, worn out, and pushed way beyond her limit that day. Hell, she was past her limit for the past week this all has happened, yet she pushed forward at top speed. The echoes of her and the Nurse's footstep forever echoing loudly in her ears as they made their way into Sakura's room. Upon the threshold, Ino became frozen with terror as her eyes descend upon her friend.  
The week of fighting and barring the poison had taken its toll on the small Pinkett. Sakura's cheeks were pale, hollowed imitations of the once red cheek woman. Even her bright pink hair seemed dull and void of nourishment. Ino could barely make out her fragile small form beneath all the heavy medical blankets. She also struggles to find signs of life in the skeletal state of Sakura's body. If it hadn't been for the various low beeps of the machine, she would have assumed the younger woman was dead and decomposing.

The Nurse breaks Ino out of her shock by sharply addressing her, "Are going to stand here and do nothing." Ino grits her teeth at the lashing but sets out to administer the cure.

 

  
Across the bustling city in a home set back near the woods, Yamato wakes with a splitting headache. He groans loudly before rolling up in the bed. As the soft cotton sheets graze his sweaty chest, a profound realization descended upon him. His eyes slowly blink as he takes in his surroundings. Whitewall greets him with blaring intensity as a breeze pushes through the sheer curtain at a window from his side.  
This isn't my room, Yamato's mind concluded. Owlishly, he blinks as his head turns about the place. He notes his clothes tossed in disarray on the floor next to the bed. Slowly the previous night's events began to break the fog in his brain; Lots of alcohol, large breast, a thick warm body, and lustful red eyes.  
Panic straightens his spin as his head snaps the right. Relief floods him as he notes no warm body is lying next to him.

"Well someone sure is alert this morning." Echo's a familiar voice.

Yamato wipes away the sleep from his face as his eyes follow the sound of the voice. Much to his amusement, Kurnai was leaning inside the archway. He notes she's wearing nothing but a loose-fitting shirt that dusted the top of her lushes' thighs.

"You're up early." He remarks as he climbs out of bed. Slowly he begins to put on his clothes as his head starts to pound mercilessly.  
He hears Kurnai chuckle lightly.

"There's fresh coffee when you're ready." She informs him.

He listens as she walks away down the long hallway. Part of him was eager to grab her and roll back into bed. However, a more significant part of him was busy filling his gut up with guilt on top of his hazy hangover. The mixture did not sit well with Yamato as he stands and slides into his shorts.  
Below his all-consuming headache, he was at a debate with himself. How could he so eagerly be tempted by Kurnai's flesh when Sakura was fighting for her very life at this moment. Although granted they weren't technically dating, did his affair mean he cheated? Alternatively, he could dust this occurrence off as a one-night stand while eagerly awaiting the return of someone he wished to be with? Although did one-night stands have coffee together the next morning? Yamato sighs wearily as he finally puts his shirt and shoes on. Either way, he needed to get out of here before his head split like a melon.  
Yamato steps lightly throughout the house and eventually makes it to the kitchen where Kurnai stands at the counter looking out a window in a daze. Her long slender hands clasped around a steaming cup of coffee. The very aroma enticed Yamato to approach her from behind, but instead, he clears his throat. The loud Noise shakes her from her daze as she greets him with a stunning smile.

"About time you make it out, old man." She teases. He can help but note her perk mouth is tugging at the corners into a grin.

Yamato smiles with good nature. "I'm not as young as I once was. That is for sure." He agrees while his head pounds as a reminder.

She laughs, "At least your stamina has been affected by your creeping age."

Yamato's face flushes red at the reminder of their nightly escapade. Kurnai laughs even harder before lifting her cup toward him.

"I'm teasing, would you like some coffee?" She inquires with a slight tilt of her head.

Yamato watches memorized as her lush's dark hair tumbles to the side, revealing her long pale neck. Yamato's memory pops up of his lips, blazing hot kisses down the side of it. His memory pops like a bubble causing him to speak loudly,   
"I'm fine. I should be heading out."

Kurnai smiles knowingly and slowly retract her offer. "Okay. Thanks for fun last night." She says with a husky tone. Yamato gulps as his dick begins to stiffen.

"Yeah, I'll see you around Kurnai." He manages to say before exiting the warm home.

Yamato gulps the hot air with welcome relief as he heads toward his home. His mind, being a traitor to his cause, kept replaying last night's memory on repeat. He couldn't help but recall Kurnai's soft flesh and full curves bending to his will much like his wood style jutsu. Alternatively, even the taste of her fiery lips as they trailed his eager body and appendage.  
Yamato groans as his dick remain at half-mast. He needed to get his head clear before his daily visit. Almost as if he jumped in a cold shower, his dick began to wither as guilt slowly ate away at his heart.  
It was not cheating; he tries to tell himself.   
We aren't even dating his mind screamed with reason.   
It wasn't as if he promised Sakura anything, he assured himself.   
Why was guilt so prevalent with each memory of Kurnai's body. Flippantly his brain scanned over his many memories of Sakura. Everything from practicing with the Kunoichi, to merely teasing her for fun and sport. Slowly the guilt faded as his heart filled with a deep affection for Sakura. Yeah, he slept with Kurnai and enjoyed her body more than words could say, he decided. However, one night of pleasure in no way erased the years of longing and affection he had accumulated for Sakura.  
Yamato rounds the corner on his street when a yell draws his attention away from the sidewalk. A few yards away near his house was Genma running full force toward him. At the snap of realization, Yamato's gut dropped before turning sour. Somethings wrong, his mind whispered full of treason. Yamato pushes it aside and jogs up to Genma halfway down the road. 

"Hey!" Genma calls as he tries to catch his breath.

Yamato couldn't help but notice the man looked rough around the edges this morning. Genma's usual brown har hair was dull and sporadic around his loose fitted cap. Yamato could even make out the shadows of his beard. Whatever was going on, had kept his friend out most of the night.

"what going on." Yamato commanded, "Is it Sakura?"

Genma nods solemnly. "They found a cure."  
Before Yamato could even process the information, his feet began to eat pavement. His heart ached with a vengeance as he and his friend make their way back to the dreaded hospital.

 

Sasuke hated hospital with a passion. It was everything from the sterile scene that invaded his nose to the mind-numbing whiteness of its marble walls; all of it made him anxious. Although granted, he did have a rough history with the building given his tendencies to overdo it during training.   
The man sighs as he paces the small waiting room. As soon they had landed, he let Ino rush to her task. He, however, stayed here although it was mandatory to report back asap.   
Uncharacteristically he found himself bound to these white walls. He couldn't quite explain the overwhelming urge that demanded his presences here. It wasn't like he had the right due to their latest scuffle. Still, he knew the Hokage would be needing his reports STAT, given what they uncovered.  
Moreover, yet here he was, pacing a four by five-room, wondering if Sakura was going to make it. His heart ached at the thought of her gone, but his mind screamed that he had other priorities. A flash of red enters his brain, causing his feet to crawl to a stop.   
He needed to check on Karen and the baby. The voice that typical screams at him to run to her fails to make itself heard as his feet remained planted to the waiting room floor. I need to make sure Sakura's okay, his mind whispered. His heart thumped hard in agreement. Sasuke knew he loved Karen, but at this moment as his closest friend lay on the periphery of death, he knew deep in his cold heart, that he loved Sakura. It was the only thing keeping him rooted while his mind reeled with reason.  
The front lobby doors clang open with a bang causing Sasuke to pause and take note. He sees two shinobi rushing in as if hell was licking at their heels. The smaller of the two Sasuke recognized from earlier. The man stops upon seeing him. He grabs the other guy, nearly jerking him back in the process before approaching him.

"Yo!" calls Genma. His hand never leaves its vice grip on the disgruntle fool behind him.

Sasuke nods in acknowledgment. He also notes, with distaste the other ninja was Yamato, who finally breaks from his friend's hold. Sasuke could help, but not the Captains total dishevel state. It struck him odd considering the man's tendency to be sharp and present.

"Have you gotten any word yet?" Genma inquires.

Sasuke sighs, "No."

The two shinobi's crestfallen faces matched Sasuke's own. Captain Yamato sighs wearily before collapsing in the nearest chair. Meanwhile, Genma scratches at the smokes sticking out of his pocket.

"It's a good thing you guys showed up when you did, in any case. She didn't have much longer." Genma mumbles.

Sasuke nods in agreement. Yamato takes a sharp breath before saying, "She's a strong woman. She'll make it through."

"That's assuming the poison hasn't already eaten away her vital organs." Genma, forever the realist mumbles, as his eyes, stray out toward the window.

A moment later, he flinches as two pairs of angry eyes glared at him menacingly. 

"My bad. I need a smoke," Genma excuses himself make a mad dash for the front doors.

Soon silence envelops the small room as the two stoic shinobi wait for news. Sasuke resumes his maddening pacing while Yamato finds himself gazing outside the nearest window. Some while later, Yamato finally breaks the silence.

"So, how's Karen doing this morning?" Yamato asks politely, unaware of Sasuke's dilemma. 

Sasuke pauses mid-step, his back facing the other ninja. His head throbs at his temple at the mention of his pregnant girlfriend. Sasuke's starts to rub his head methodically.

"I'm not sure I haven't reported back in." He admits.

Yamato hums to himself before lapsing back into temporary silence. 

"You know I ran into her the other day," Yamato mentions lightly as Sasuke slowly sits across from him.

Sasuke pegs him with a guarded stare, waiting for Yamato to fill in the blank.  
The Captain unfolds his long limbs for his body while holding Sasuke's long gaze.  
Suddenly Sasuke's head pulse's hard, causing him to break eye contact and cradle his head in his hands. With each thump of his heart, the headaches pulsed with a vengeance causing his vision to blur. Sasuke hears the Captain say something, but it becomes background noise as his headaches become all-consuming. There's a screech of something echoing in his ears causing shivers of pain to spiral down his spine. Sasuke grits his teeth in agony as sweat begins to build on his brow.  
He can feel large warm hands pull at his arms, but he shakes them away. At that moment, his eyes squeezed shut to try to bear the pain away from his skull. To Sasuke's utter horror, it was no help at all for the pain. He could still feel the hands trying desperately to pry his hands open. Although like hell Sasuke would let those hands ruin the only minor comfort in the raging pain-gasm, he was currently experiencing. A small voice calls out softly, almost like a caress in his ears. As pain enveloped his senses, he could barely make out the audio voice.   
Those once big hands turn small and gentle. Instead of those hands pulling away from Sasuke's cocoon of darkness, they start to rub the bomb exploding at his temple. Then as if by magic, the horrible headache starts to lighten up to a more bearable pain. Sasuke finally chances his eyes open.  
As he blinks in the bright light around him, a soft pale face comes into his view. Bright green eyes look at him with concern. Finally, Sasuke pulls back and notes Ino disheveled nature.

"Is she okay?" Sasuke croaks between shivers of pain.

Ino's eyes soften, "Its too soon tell. She had a violent reaction to the cure."

Sasuke hears a sharp intake of breath that matches his own. Ino sighs before pulling away and addressing both ninjas.

"She's stable for now. Time will tell if the cure works or not." Ino's voice cracks at the end as tears well up in her bright teal eyes.

Instinctively Sasuke reaches out for a hand. As their clammy palms clasp together, he squeezes her palm reassuringly.

"You did the best you could Ino," Sasuke assures the Kunoichi.

Ino sniffles but straightens her spine as Sasuke doubles over in pain again.

"We need to get you looked at now." Ino barked in a tone that demanded no arguing.  
Sasuke had no choice but to obey. Ino tugs at his hands until he's on his feet. 

Behind them, Yamato speaks up, "Are we able to visit her?"

"Yeah, let them know I approved your visit," Ino informs him.

Sasuke felt a surge of jealousy overtake him. 

Afterall Sakura was his and his alone. 

The very thought sent more pain cascading down his spine, nearly buckling his knees.

"Come on Sasuke," Ino urges at the man's resistance. 

"We'll visit her once your taken care of," She assures him.

 

Yamato's legs felt like lead as the Nurse leads him to Sakura's room. He still found himself reeling from guilt of his nightly adventure. However, his brief encounter with Sasuke had him set on edge. Regardless of their past, it seemed the stoic man still harbored some feelings toward the Pinkett. The very idea made Yamato more defensive if not a bit jealous. The more he thought of Sakura, the more possessive he began to feel. The building guilt in his gut was a prevalent testament to that very source of emotions.  
Yamato finds himself holding his breath as the Nurse opens the large metal door as softly as she can. The room is dimly lite by the fading light of the window casting shadows across Sakura's small form. The Nurse quietly checks her vital before dismissing herself. As Yamato listens to her fading footsteps, he finds himself rooted to the spot of the floor near the door.  
Part of him argued he didn't deserve to be hereafter his late night. However, the more determined part of him demanded he rushes to her side at once and grovel for forgiveness. The man finds himself at lost or the right course of actions. So, when all else failed, he found himself kneeling at Sakura bedside. He softly strokes the pale strands of pink hair from her face and whispers promises of sweet nothings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the read, the comments, and the Kudos. I much appreciate it all. For now, I'll stick to posting a chapter a month due to life issues.


	23. Back At It Again

Ino was exhausted by her endeavors; a small part of her was enormously proud of her achievement that day. By all the odds she had managed to pump out a cure in record time. Although granted it had about a 70 percent chance of working. At the end of the day for the life of a Kunoichi, luck was all that mattered. It was rotten luck that landed Ino in the clutches of nasty bastards, but it was even better luck they found plant necessary to bring Sakura back from the edge of death.  
Granted by the time Ino showed up with the vial Sakura was well prepared for the underworld nearly. Sakura's entail reaction to the cure was troublesome for Ino. Perhaps that last thirty percent was more vital than she estimated. As Ino watches quietly as her friends' vitals slowly start to rise, she can't help but smile through the tears misting her eyes. Sakura would live by the sheer will of Ino's determination.  
The lovely Ino hits her breaking point later that evening after making sure Sasuke was well taken care of in the respective room. Ino made sure to have the medics leave notes of his condition on Sakura's desk so that she could go over them later. For now, Ino determined on going home and taking a long hot shower. The Kunoichi smiles to herself before quietly exiting the hospital.  
Ino makes a list in her mind of things to do once she gets home. Lost in thought, she failed to note the figure was suddenly approaching her from behind. A firm hand at her shoulder startles her. She immediately withdraws her kunai and slams it into the opposing party without fully seeing who may have surprised her. Lucky for a senbon blocks the lethal weapon with a loud clang.  
As the noise reverberates in her ears, it dawns on her that the figure was known other Genma. A look of pure astonishment colors his tired face.

"Easy their killer. You could've sliced someone's throat like that." He mocks with a sense of easiness.

Ino quickly withdrawals her weapon with a shaky hand. Her lips screw up into half-hearted grimace as she apologies, "Sorry, I'm …still a little jumpy from…. our mission." 

Ino wraps her arms around her self protectively as she focuses on anything but the knowing eyes of Genma. She notes him nod in understanding. 

"Well I didn't mean to startle you, I was just going to go grab a bite to eat and thought I'd ask if you wanted to join me?" Genma asks with a smile that nearly blinds Ino.

For a moment, Ino could almost feel whole. She had forgotten just how charming Genma could be when he wasn't serious all the time. Although it struck her odd, he would ask her out considering the nature of their previous relationship. Perhaps, Ino mused, if she weren't so damaged, she would take him up on his offer in a heartbeat. As Ino stood now, she could barely look herself in the mirror, let alone stand in the eyes of a man who viewed her sexually.

"I think I'll pass. It's been a long…. week." Ino says sheepishly.  
Ino hates the look of disappointment coloring Genma's face as her decline. However, the man quickly covers it up with another smile leaving Ino feeling guilty.

"Its no problem, I understand. I guess I'll see you around then." Says Genma.

Genma waves his goodbyes before disappearing into the fading light. For the rest of the walk home, Ino could fathom why her tears silently fell from her eyes.

 

Yamato found himself a bit lost as the day slowly slipped away. After his initial visit, he felt the strong urge to buy flowers to place at Sakura's bedside. He ensures he kisses Sakura softly on the forehead before quickly leaving the hospital. As Yamato walks among the retiring crowds of civilians, he keeps a lookout for any flower shops nearby. The urge to buy the flower far preceded the residing guilt souring Yamato's gut. It amused him to no end to think that such an emotion was prevalent to him. For the longest time all, he could ever feel like a sense of what feelings were not what they are. But nowadays, thanks to Kakashi, he felt more than just an empty body. He felt like an actual human being. Although as mind whispers of his late-night ventures, he can't help but feel shame. Because although now he felt the spectrum of feeling, he often didn't know how to sort the best. He was sometimes exercising worked most when he was angry. Yamato felt rather than knew that this time working your muscles to the brink of exhaustion wasn't going to dissolve the sour acid building inside him like a volcano.  
Much to his relief though, he does happen upon a closing flower stand. A moment of begging the withered older woman to near death, she finally relented and sold him her last bundle of white lilies. Yamato felt joy fill his smile as he played the old lady and headed back to the hospital. By now, with the flowers in hand, the sour feeling in his gut began to dissolve finally. Flowers are the cure for everything, Yamato muses as he fights the fading crowd of civilians heading home from work.  
In his rush, Yamato happens to buck shoulders with someone nearby. He swivels to apologies only to realizes it was none other than Genma. However, Yamato quickly notes the man's depressed attitude. 

"Sorry," Genma mumbles without looking up.  
Yamato quickly grabs the man by his shoulder, startling him from his reservoir.

"Is everything ok?" Yamato asks with concern.  
Genma shakes of the hand along with his sudden shock of Yamato.

"I'm fine," Genma mumbles with a roll of his shoulders.

"You look like shit." Yamato points out blankly. "Have you been home yet?"  
Genma merely gives Yamato deadpan looks before changing the subject.

"Nice flowers." He nods to the bundle in Yamato's hands.  
Yamato's stern face lightens to a softer angle as he glances down at the flowers.

"Yeah, think she'll like them?" He asks absently mindedly.  
Genma can't help but sigh as he notes the dotting look on his dear friend's face. Because although his love life was a bust, his friends at least could stand a snowball chance in hell.

"Of course, man. If there from you, she'll love 'me." Genma says with enthusiasm.  
Yamato's corresponding smile made it worth the comment for Genma. However, the tender moment quickly escapes as the man grows serious.

"Have you eaten yet?" Yamato asks sternly.  
Genma scratches his head sheepishly. "Don't you have other things to worry about."  
Yamato, in turn, gives Genma the worlds meanest look causing the smaller man to flinch back.

"Jesus, you're scary sometimes, "Genma mumbles.

"Let's go eat." Yamato orders in a stern tone.

Genma feels his argument bubble up to his lips in a hurried fashion. However, the withering look from Yamato keeps him from protesting and instead joins his friend in a local Raman stand.  
The two quickly place their order, their bellies growling from their extended stay at the hospital.

"So, spill it Genma." Yamato quickly states once the Raman master left.

"it's the damn daisy's," Genma confides with a long sigh.  
Yamato quirks an eyebrow at his usually perky friend.

"I'm sprung like a damn chicken in a cage!" Genma exaggerates his point by pulling at the tuffet of hair peeking threw his cap. Yamato can only chuckle at his plight.

"Do you love her?" Yamato asks as the man settles back down.  
Genma shrugs as he looks everywhere but Yamato's face.

"Hard to say really," Genma mutters.

"Sounds to me, like you got a case of a Daisy fever," Yamato smirks at the frustrated man.

Genma cuts his eyes sharply to Yamato before blurting out, "Look, I asked her out to dinner, and she said no."

Yamato does a double-take at his troubled friend. After all, Genma was not the sort who dated per se. What concerned Yamato the most, however, was how upset Genma seemed to be about the turnout. Almost as if the man had wanted to go on a date with the infamous Kunoichi. To Yamato, it seemed strange that man who took great pleasure in the company of multiple women, would be so enamored but defeated by the denial of just one female. 

"Well, she did just get back from a long mission." Yamato attempted to reconcile. Although at this point it was like slapping on a band-aid after sawing your finger off; utterly useless.  
Genma groans as his face slide down into the nest of his folded arms on the counter before him.

"Why does it sting all the more then?" Genma mutters beneath the shadow of his bangs.

"Because you missed her," Yamato states as a matter of fact.

"This shit sucks bro. You sure your flower is worth all this agony?" Genma perks up a bit as he eagerly waits for his friend's reply.

Yamato's relax face slips into serious thought as he mulls the question over. Was Sakura worth the rising bile threatening to choke him? Was Sakura's smile enough to chase away his dreary days? Was Sakura sufficient for him to be content with, body and soul? Honestly, Yamato wasn't sure of those heavy things. What Yamato did know has he cherished Sakura in a way that always brought a smile to his face. He valued her opinion as a fierce Shinobi that could turn him into a puddle of lust. He knew deep down that although he felt guilty of something, it would eventually fade as the feelings of affection grew for the lovely Sakura Haruno.

"She's worth the effort I put in to see it through." Yamato quietly surmises.

Genma sighs but doesn't argue with the man for a change. Before long, their food came, and the two were able to focus on lighter things.

 

That night the city of Konoha was sound asleep in the light drizzles that began almost predictively. Sasuke finds himself restless in the hospital bed. His earlier migraine all but gone and all he felt now was a sense of fatigue. The stubborn man pushes the feeling aside as he rolls out of bed. The soft pit-pat of his feet echoes the room until he finally sits upon the window ledge. He gazes out into the dreary night with a sense of nostalgia, eating away at him. The luminescent of the lamp lights brought to him a cove of many memories with Sakura. Everything from walking her home after late nights, to running in with bleeding shinobi on his back. All of it played like a broken record in his mind as he finds his body sagging against the windowpane. Of all the things he recalled, he knew he missed her like the city loses a mild sunny day. It was hard for Sasuke to pinpoint precisely where the sense of melancholy came from, But ever since he rested after beading mistered medicine from the nurses, He had thoughts of not knowing who he was as a man.  
This was strange because, for the past year, Sasuke made it his mission to cultivate the sense for who he was after the war. It's one of the many reasons he took the tour of the great fire country. Plus, he always had a sense of adventure in him Orochimaru always quenched that. Sitting in the village was just not his forte. Since his return, he couldn't help but feel like he missed something important while he was away. Something that he sees reflected in his friends pitying looks or hushed tones as he walks by them in the streets. Sasuke sure it if wasn't for Naruto, the others would have hung him by his toes by now.  
Sasuke sighs thoughtfully as a smirk descends upon his face, although to be frank the rest of them couldn't dust him even if they tried. Sasuke's mind briefly flashes of pink hair, causing his heart to ache fiercely. Sakura, his mind whispers like fevered sickling. His pulse quickens while his demeaning sneer turns into a soft, warm smile. She was his kryptonite, his utter weakness because while he owed Karen for impregnating her with his child, he knew without a soul of a doubt, he loved Sakura. Even as his head screamed that it was wrong, that he loved Karen and they were to have a child, his heart still shuddered for pink hair. If Sasuke were honest with himself, he would admit that he had done Sakura wrong. He remembered leaving the village with every intention of coming back and proposing to her when he finally cleaned his slate. Somewhere along the way, things got hazy. He remembers the day he met Karen and feeling a sense of dread feel him. After that, all his mind could conjure up was the immense urge to protect and care for Karen. Although now as Sasuke sits and quietly mulls over his internal memories, he feels that a powerful urge slowly starts to slip away.  
Sasuke sits up a little straighter before letting out a huff of annoyance.

"You're getting loud in your old age," Sasuke mutters to the cold glass. 

In its reflection, he sees someone click on the bedside lamp. In the iridescent glow, Kakashi snorts as he folds himself into the chair nearby.

"Once a brat always a brat." Kakashi smiles knowingly into his mask.

Sasuke swivels around to cast the man a ragged look before approaching the bed.

"Did you come to bore me with your bedtime stories, old man."  
Kakashi sighs, "Not tonight, I'm afraid I left my book at home."  
Sasuke pegs him with an incredible look before slipping back into the bed.

"Now, now, Sasuke. We had a deal remember?" Kakashi clicks his tongue as he runs a hand through his disheveled hair. Sasuke could help but note the man in his usual ninja gear minus the Hokage robes. However, if Sasuke listens carefully, he could make out the chakra signatures of two Anbu outside his door.

"Medical emergency," Sasuke points to his head with a shrug.  
Kakashi sighs with exasperation, "Yes, well, the medics came back with some interesting reports about your 'migraine.'" Kakashi quotes the words with his fingers.

Sasuke narrows his eyes. "Is that right." He drawls out.

Kakashi throws his hands up before settling them back in his lap.  
"It seems you've been steadily poison for the past eight months or so."

The two shinobi lock eyes in a fight of will to determine who was the liar of the unsettling news. Sasuke hums to himself as his eyes stray toward the window. 

"Last I checked I haven't come in contact with anyone or thing..." Sasuke trails off as he mentally recaps his previous adventure.

Kakashi tilts his head to the side, "well according to the medics you've ingested it daily. While not fatal like so, it does come with a drawl back keen to withdrawals when it's no longer in your system. Hence your uncharacteristic migraine."

Sasuke snaps from his wondering to meet the steady gaze of the Hokage's'.

"I think it's time we discuss those details as per stated in our deal." Kakashi locks his fingers together over his lap. 

Sasuke could snort at the appearance of patients the Hokage tried to pull off. It was all in Kakashi's tight gripe on his knuckle that suggested his urgency to Sasuke.  
Sasuke lets out a sigh and settles back into the bed's headboard.

"Of course, Kakashi-sensei. Where do I begin?"

 

Karen was feeling restless by the hour as she paces the tea garden by the moonlight. Her hand rubs her bulging belly as an attempt to soothe her frayed nerves. Earlier she had gotten word from one her many spies that Sasuke had returned home. However, much to her displeasure, he had remained at the hospital instead of returning home. The time for her plan was near, and all her pieces were in place, except for Sasuke. Granted she knew her control would be limited, especially given the man's tolerance level to most herbs, but still, she figured she would have more time before his body processed it all. His clear in subornation to stay at the hospital where that retched pink vixen lay, added to her constant worry that Sasuke was slipping from her grasp. After all, the subject of her herbs is only as enamored as the consistent dose given.  
Karen sighs irritably before feeling something small bump her hand. Karen's feet freeze in place as a complete smile forms on her face. In her mind, a bit of resolution comes to an apex. Even if Sasuke was no longer under her pinned thumb, she was still secure. By now everyone in the village was just as convinced as Sasuke, that her child was an Uchiha. By the time Karen's plans come to fruition, she knew her child to be safe. She knew that Sasuke was an honorable man, and regardless of her actions, he would care for the child as his own. More importantly, Suigetsu would never be able to corrupt their child as he did to so many young children who fell into Orochimaru's care. Just a little longer, Karen repeats to herself like a mantra.  
Meanwhile, Karen needed to ensure she maintains what she could with Sasuke, even if it meant damaging his ties with that pink-haired vixen. After all that Karen went through to try and kill her off, the stubborn woman made it by the sheer luck. So now Karen was determined to scar the fierce Kunoichi the only way a mean-spirited woman knew how, through rumors and gossip. Karen laughs to herself as she resides herself to bed. Outside the crickets drone out her eerie laugh with their late-night symphony.

 

Sakura Haruno was a woman of many things. She liked helping others in times of need or just because she was able to help. She accelerated in chakra control her whole life and flourished under the excellent care of Lady Tsunade. As she stood now, she was considered one of the Legendary Sanin of The Village Hidden in the Leaf. While she had many friends and co-workers and other people of importance in her life, she always felt a bit lonely. Abet was a fiercely independent woman who could handle her own. But late at night when the crickets chirp their melodies of love and content, she found herself wanting more of her comfortable life. She wanted to experience the passion that was fueled by love, not anger. She wanted to be wooed by eyes that lusted after her in the darkest corner of the dance floor in a sea of women. She wanted someone to want her like she was a prized possession. Sakura Haruno wanted to feel like a feminine woman. That's all she ever wanted from Sasuke, what she craved from Yamato, what Sakura looked for when she went out with Ino. She wanted to be something other than a deadly warrior or some person of importance. She wanted to be a civilian, like her parents, and do normal things; like playhouse with a man of her dreams or even hang laundry outside on a windy day. She wanted a family of her own that she could grow old with and teach them the variable lessons of life while maintaining a good character. Sakura Haruno wanted all these things more than she would ever dare say out loud. Because while she cherished the ideas, she held a strong sense of duty, keeping her where she stood in the clinic and shinobi world.  
However, as Sakura floats in the shade of grey in her mind, she realizes these essential things. She remembers why it is she became a shinobi, why Sakura continued to grow as a Kunoichi, why she loved her job as demanding as it was for her. Sakura's sense of self finally comes back to her, crying soft tears of remorse begging her to wake up, asking her to continue fighting, to keep pushing forward. Her powerful sense of self urged her to find the strength to fight off the warm embrace of the grey. It reminded her that not all things in life came easy, but the pain was just weakness leaving the body. The days hurting was worth the days of utter joy and happiness. Because at the end of the retched rain, there would always be sunshine and a rainbow as a promise that better days were ahead.  
Sakura embraces these ideas as she finally pulls her inner self from the glop of grey that surrounded her mind. She imagens a sizeable wooden door appearing before her with a large brass handle shining brightly. Sakura takes a deep breath, and with the help of a ghostly hand, Sakura opens that door. Light floods her instantly bringing with it all the heartache and pain she's held at bay. She fights through the tears and heartbreak to finally being able to open her eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! and thank you for reading my fanfiction. For those whom it may concern, I've posted this story on fanfiction.net under another pen named called Sonrisavivirmivida. While I do not own the characters, I do take credit for the idea as an original piece that I have written. Furthermore, I hope to post to this site weekly unless otherwise stated. Also, I apologize for any grammar inconsistency. I do not have a beta at this time for this work. Again thank you and enjoy!


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